ILOILO – A teenaged lass secretly gave birth in a toilet at the Dr. Ricardo S. Provido Memorial District Hospital in Calinog town, concealed the baby in the toilet’s ceiling, then left the hospital.
The baby, a girl, died hours after it was discovered at around 9 a.m. on April 3.
The teenager likely gave birth past 4 a.m. Friday last week, initial investigation of the Calinog police station showed.
Cops were able to track down the young mother, a resident of the municipality of Bingawan.
The newborn’s location was discovered by a folk of a hospital patient who went to the toilet. She heard a baby crying and the sound seemed to come from the ceiling.
The hospital staff was alerted. The ceiling was checked and the baby was rescued.
The baby was taken to the emergency room, cleaned and checked. It had hematoma on the forehead and on an eye.
After several hours, the baby expired.
According to Police Chief Inspector Jose Nemias Pamplona, Calinog police chief, the baby’s mother was 19 years old. She was seen entering the hospital with an aunt at around 4 a.m. for a checkup.
The teenager asked permission to go to the toilet. The aunt was apparently clueless about her niece’s pregnancy.
“The teenager said she was nervous and did not know what to do,” Pamplona told Panay News. “We advised her to take a rest because she was weak.”
The young mother would certainly be facing appropriate charges, said the police chief.
For his part, 3rd District Provincial Board member Matt Palabrica of Bingawan said, “Manabat gid ang nanay. Dapat nagin responsible sya. This is a mortal sin kay wala sala ang bata.”/PN
