Teen nabbed for selling own baby for P50,000
The Philippine National Police expressed concern on Thursday over the increase in last year’s cases of individuals who were caught offering babies online, even as it arrested earlier this week a teenager who tried to sell her month-old child for P50,000.
Brig. Gen. Maria Sheila Portento, chief of the PNP Women and Children’s Protection Center (WCPC), told reporters at Camp Crame that in 2025, eight people were apprehended for selling babies online, up from five in 2024.
“It seems to have suddenly spread like wildfire because online platforms are very accessible. You can sell almost anything and it’s so alarming,” Portento said.
“There are many sites online that we cyberpatrol … We are closely coordinating with social media platforms and requesting them to take down the posts selling children,” she added.
Adoption an option
According to Portento, one of the reasons most frequently cited by those arrested was their financial inability to care for the child.
She pointed out, however, that it would be better for them to put up the babies for adoption through the National Authority for Child Care.
“They can just surrender the child without profiting off them,” Portento said.
She cited the case of a 17-year-old mother who was caught in an entrapment conducted by the PNP WCPC in Quezon City, on Jan. 6.
This was after the police found the teenager’s post on social media about putting up her 1-month-old baby for sale for P50,000. They contacted the suspect and agreed to meet with her at a fast-food restaurant.
“We found out from her mother that the teenager had spent the money for her tuition. So, her plan was to use the money she would get from selling her baby to cover her tuition,” Portento said.
According to the police official, their investigators found that the suspect had already talked to a person in Japan who was sending her money to buy the baby.
Portento did not say how much money had been received by the suspect, who was taken into custody along with her infant. They were turned over to the Quezon City social services department.
Possible violations
As for the culpability of the suspect, who is a minor, Section 6 of Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Act states that children between 15 and 18 years of age are exempted from criminal liability “unless he or she has acted with discernment.”
“Her discernment, based on the certification of the social worker who conducted the assessment, was above average. So, definitely, she was aware [of what she was doing]. She planned and executed it,” Portento said.
She added that the suspect may face a case for violation of Section 4(a) and (e) of RA 9208, as amended by RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, as well as Section 7 of RA 7610 or the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
Portento further said the case would be in relation to RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act since the minor suspect had used social media to sell her infant.
Father under probe
According to the PNP WCPC official, the police are now investigating the possible role of the infant’s father, who is also a minor.
Last July, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) urged the government to “strengthen [the] monitoring and regulation of online platforms, enhance surveillance and investigative capabilities and ensure the swift prosecution and conviction of perpetrators” of “child selling.”
“No child should ever be bought, sold, or treated as a commodity,” it said in a statement.
The CHR issued the call after the rescue of a month-old baby in Pasay City, who was reportedly being sold for P90,000.
