Abducted baby reunites with Mom

CEBU, Philippines - The baby boy who was reportedly kidnapped by two women inside a downtown mall last Monday is finally reunited with his mother.

One year and six months old Jake Simbajon was left by an unidentified woman with the security guard of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday afternoon.

Church authorities turned him over to Santo Niño Barangay Captain Pancho Ramirez who also brought him to Waterfront Police Station.

Ramirez said they identified the boy through his photos shown on TV news reports about his abduction.

Ramirez said a woman asked the church security guard to watch over the baby for a few minutes while she prays inside the church at around 2 p.m.

The security guard took the baby but became worried when the woman failed to return to get the baby back.

Alarmed, the guard brought Jake to the church authorities.

Waterfront policemen brought the baby to the Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) at the Cebu City Police Office headquarters.

The police then informed his mother, Diana Simbajon, 21, that her son is with them.

Police said the boy was in good shape but was brought to Cebu City Medical Center for check up.

Investigators are now eyeing the possibility that the boy was abducted by a relative.

But the police is withholding the name of the alleged abductor while further investigation is being conducted. 

Diana, her sister Gina Pareja and the child arrived in Cebu City from Tabuelan town where they attended a fiesta celebration last Saturday.

Diana was buying lunch and left her son with Pareja, inside a mall at the downtown area.

But Pareja later said that she gave the boy to two unidentified women who told her to go after Diana. (FREEMAN)