Woman said to have drowned own child

CEBU, Philippines —  A woman was arrested after being accused of killing her 11-month-old child in the bathroom of a dormitory last Friday evening along P. Gomez Street, Barangay Santo Niño, Cebu City.

The woman, 31, from Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, allegedly drowned her daughter in a pail in the bathroom of the dormitory they were staying in.

The FREEMAN is withholding the name of the victim and the suspect due to the sensitive nature of the case.

According to the investigation by Police Senior Master Sergeant Erasmo Rosel Jr., of the Waterfront Police Station, it appeared the drowning was deliberate.

“Base sa among imbestigasyon naay krimen nga nahitabo, paglumos sa iyahang anak sa balde nga puno og tubig, Base sa mga ebidensya gipatay niya iyahang anak (Based on our investigation there is a crime that occurred, she drowned her daughter into a pail filled with water, based on the evidence she killed her child),” he said.

Erasmo also said that the suspect was struggling with depression, according to her family.

“Naa siya’y istorya sa depression kuan kining sa iyahang family,” Erasmo said.

According to the grandfather of the victim, 69, from Bacolod, Lanao del Norte, he, his wife, and their daughter took the infant to Cebu City to have her checked by doctors here due to recurring fever.

The grandfather said he momentarily left his daughter alone with the infant just to buy drinking water outside the dormitory. When he came back he noticed that his granddaughter was not around. When he asked his daughter where the infant was, she answered she did not know.

When he checked the comfort room he found that the child had been dunked head-first into a pail full of water.

The grandfather called for help, and with the assistance of the dormitory’s employees rushed the infant to the Cebu City Medical Center, but she was declared dead on arrival.

The death of the infant was reported to the police and Police Staff Sergeant Jerome Paquibot and Police Corporal Cecille Cabildo of the Waterfont Police Station responded and arrested the said suspect, who was still in their room in the dormitory.

The suspect is now detained at the Waterfront Police Station and is set to face a parricide case for the crime. — David Mesias, CNU intern/BRP (FREEMAN)