By Hilda Austria
DAGUPAN CITY – A newborn child abducted from Lingayen District Hospital in Pangasinan has been safely returned to his family on Tuesday.
In a radio interview over Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan, Edmar Carpio, the child’s cousin who posted about the incident on social media, said he was contacted by the abductor.
“She contacted me and said she was the one who wore a scrub suit and took the baby from his mother. She said someone allegedly asked her to do it for PHP5,000,” he said in Filipino.
The suspect told him she was bothered by her conscience and wanted to return the child without police involvement.
Carpio agreed to meet the suspect but secretly coordinated with the local police. On Tuesday, the child was retrieved from the suspect, who was arrested.
“We totally entrust the investigation to the police,” Carpio said.
Lt. Col. Junmar Gonzales, Officer-in-Charge of the Lingayen Police Station, said in a press conference that they were consolidating evidence.
Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III, in the same press conference, said security will be beefed up in the 14 provincial government-run hospitals to prevent such incidents.
“We will have a standard procedure, and we will beef up security. We will add more closed-circuit television cameras in all hospitals and will issue an order for all of us to be conscious of this crime,” he said.
Guico added that there will be stricter visitations rules and entry to the hospitals. (PNA)
