DOH alerts hospitals after babies abducted
The Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday that it has alerted all hospitals under its supervision to tighten security and keep track of their personnel during the holiday season following two separate cases of newborn babies being abducted by women.
Both infants, however, were reported to be safe while the suspects were arrested. The first case happened at a hospital in Marikina City on Dec. 26 while the second one took place in Tondo, Manila, three days later.
During a joint press conference with the Philippine National Police, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said that in the first case, a woman wearing hospital scrubs and a face mask entered the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC) in Marikina.
According to ARMMC director Imelda Mateo, the kidnapping occurred from 11 p.m. on Dec. 26 up to the early hours of Dec. 27.
Fake nurse
Marikina police chief Col. Jenny Tecson said the suspect told the mother that she needed to take the baby for newborn testing. The mother handed over her child, along with some of her medical records, to the suspect, who escaped.
Tecson added that they managed to track down the suspect to Pasig City, using footage taken from surrounding CCTV cameras. The baby was safely recovered on Dec. 29.
Around 1 a.m. on the same day, another woman tried to take a baby from the Tondo Medical Center (TMC) in Manila. The suspect, however, was caught by a nurse before she could leave the hospital.
TMC chief Dr. Maria Isabelita Estrella said the woman gave the infant back to the mother before trying to escape. But the nurse alerted one of the hospital’s security guards who apprehended the suspect.
Both women are now in the custody of the police who are preparing to charge them with kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, respectively.
Charges being prepared
Following the incidents, the DOH has alerted all its hospitals nationwide.
Both Estrella and Mateo also acknowledged the need to tighten the implementation of hospital policies, including conducting a proper head count of medical personnel and proper endorsement in between shifts to avoid a repeat of the kidnapping incidents.
According to Mateo, lapses may have occurred because “only a few staff were on duty at the time due to the holiday. Just the skeletal force. So, everyone was overworked.”
“[But] this should not be an excuse. Even if there are only a few of you, you will really have to carry out and implement the strict policies and processes,” she said.
Tighter checks
Mateo added that the ARMMC will also be stricter in checking and validating the identities of people entering and leaving its emergency room, which is typically full of patients.
Estrella said that in the case of Tondo Medical Center, the suspect was able to get into the hospital by blending in with the surge of people that entered the emergency room.
“As you know, in an emergency room, when there is an emergency and they have a patient, there is a rush of people. After that, that’s when the guards will become strict on who can go out … and who can enter,” Estrella said.
According to Tecson, both suspects had claimed that they recently experienced a miscarriage, supposedly leading them to commit the crime.
But she noted that there have been other cases of newborn babies being kidnapped so that they could be sold.
