By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY – Two newborn babies were found in separate locations here last Wednesday, August 21, but tragically, one was discovered lifeless.
The decomposing body of a baby boy was found in a vacant lot at Purok Celita, Barangay Alijis, around 5:30 p.m.
Police Captain Greeky Cayao, head of Police Station 7, reported that the baby still had his umbilical cord attached.
Residents in the area initially noticed a foul odor near a sari-sari store but did not pay much attention until the smell intensified over the next few days.
Eventually, one resident traced the odor and discovered the lifeless baby.
Cayao stated that the baby might have been left there for about three days.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, as it is unclear whether the baby was abandoned alive or already deceased.
The baby will be buried following the autopsy, Cayao added.
About an hour later, at 6:30 p.m., a one-day-old baby boy, wrapped in cloth, was rescued in Purok Guanzon, Barangay Mansilingan.
Cayao said the baby had been left by his 22-year-old mother on the roadside after they were discharged from a lying-in clinic that afternoon.
The baby was found by children who were searching for spiders in the area.
The baby’s 21-year-old father went to the police station after learning of the incident and presented a birth certificate to claim his son.
He told the police that he had helped his live-in partner and son into a taxi from the lying-in clinic to their house, as he needed to buy diapers and milk, according to Cayao.
However, authorities decided to turn over the baby to the custody of his grandmother while the mother undergoes assessment.
Cayao mentioned that the mother was identified after a barangay official recognized her parents.
The mother claimed that she abandoned the baby because she was scared and nervous about her parents finding out she was pregnant.
However, the family indicated that the baby boy is their second child.
Cayao said they have yet to decide whether to press charges against the mother, pending an assessment by a social worker, as she might be suffering from postpartum depression.
