Grandmother allegedly poisons self, 4-year-old granddaughter in Bukidnon

A four-year-old girl died after her grandmother allegedly poisoned her using a baby bottle in Don Carlos, Bukidnon, on Thursday, August 13.

In a “24 Oras Weekend” report by Dano Tingcungco on Sunday, both the 52-year-old grandmother and her granddaughter were brought to a hospital but later died from the poisoning.

Before the incident, Don Carlos police Deputy Chief of Police P/Lt. Rufina Bayarcal said authorities received a distress call at around 6 p.m. Thursday about a heated argument involving the grandmother.

“[‘Yung] kapatid ng lola tumawag doon sa hotline ng police station po. Pagdating doon sa bahay nila, wala na ‘yung lolo kasi sabi niya umalis siya para hindi na mag-ano ‘yung gulo nila,” Bayarcal said.

(The grandmother's sibling called the police station's hotline. When officers arrived at the house, the grandfather had already left to avoid escalating the conflict.)

“Umiiwas [siya] sa gulo, sir, kasi ‘yung lola nag-wild, umalis na lang siya para hindi madagdagan ‘yung gulo,” she added.

(He wanted to avoid the conflict, sir, because the grandmother had gone out of control. He left so the situation would not escalate further.)

However, after the responding officers left, the argument resumed. Authorities were dispatched back to the residence following another call, where they found the girl vomiting.

“‘Yung unang tumawag, tumawag din. Bumalik na naman ‘yung pulis, tapos ‘yun na ‘yung nadatnan ng pulis doon. Nagsusuka na ‘yung bata, tapos ni-rescue na rin,” Bayarcal said.

(The initial caller contacted us again. When police returned, they found the child already vomiting, so they immediately rescued her.)

Bayarcal said authorities rescued both the grandmother and the child shortly after 8 p.m.

The girl died at around 1 a.m. the following morning.

At the scene, authorities recovered a feeding bottle containing milk suspected to have been laced with poison. They also found two sachets of zinc phosphide, a common rodenticide, which police believe the grandmother used to poison herself and her granddaughter.

The grandmother was admitted to the hospital but also died.

Relevance of the past

Police confirmed that the young victim had previously appeared in a 2023 “24 Oras” report about a violent domestic incident in Bukidnon, in which a man severely beat his live-in partner before fatally stabbing her with a shard of broken glass. The woman was the girl's mother.

The victim was only one year old at the time. Footage from the 2023 report showed the father lifting the baby onto a sofa, where she slipped and fell. The father appeared indifferent to the incident.

“‘Yung bata, sir, ‘yan ‘yung bata na nandoon sa noong pinatay ‘yung nanay niya noong 2023. Noong pinatay ‘yung mama niya, 1 year old pa siya doon,” Bayarcal said.

(Sir, that child is the same baby who was present when her mother was murdered in 2023. She was only one year old at the time.)

The girl's father is currently serving time at the Davao Penal Colony, while the child had been placed in the custody of her maternal family following her mother's death.

Police are investigating whether the past incident was connected to the recent dispute involving the grandmother, who reportedly had a history of suicide attempts.

“Una kasi, sabi ng asawa niya kahapon [na] pumunta pa dito, madalas silang mag-away, tapos 'pag nag-aaway sila, ‘yung lola nag-a-attempt ng suicide,” Bayarcal said.

(According to her husband, who came to the station yesterday, the couple frequently fought. Whenever they argued, the grandmother would attempt suicide.)

“Yung lola daw, sir, masyadong selosa. Kapag nabuhay ‘yun siya, sir, tiyak na may haharapin siyang asunto,” she added.

(The grandmother was reportedly very jealous, sir. If she had survived, she would definitely have faced criminal charges.)— Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/MCG, GMA News