MANILA, Philippines – A one-year-old boy died after he was gagged and locked up in a cabinet for five hours by his 23-year-old aunt, who admitted that she was high on drugs when she did the crime.
“Binalutan ko ng damit ‘yong bibig, tapos tinape ko, tapos itinago ko sa cabinet [I covered his mouth with a cloth and then I taped it and hid him in the cabinet],” said Maria Ruth Mariano.
The child’s remains were found last Tuesday, July 4, in a ditch in Brgy. 70, Caloocan City. He was brought to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival due to suffocation.
The boy’s grandmother was looking for the child when she received a text message from an unknown number telling her that the victim was abducted and his kidnappers were asking a P3,000-ransom.
But Carmelita Bucao, neighbor of Mariano, said she saw the latter carrying what looked like a baggage that she put down in the ditch. The witness said she didn’t know that it was the boy until someone shrieked upon seeing what was inside.
“Dahan-dahan niyang inilapag, hindi na gumagalaw. Kasi kung buhay pa, iiyak. Kaya hindi ko alam kung ano ‘yong inilagay niya rito, kasi hindi na nga ako tumayo. No’ng tumili na lang saka lang nalaman na may bata,” said Bucao.
Mariano said she was sorry for what she did.
She said that aside from being under the influence of an illegal substance, she was also angry at her mother-in-law at that time thus she got stressed out when she failed to stop the child from crying.
“Sorry sa nagawa ko. Inisip ko din kung gawin ‘yon sa mga anak ko [I’m sorry for what I did. I was also thinking if the same thing was done to my children],” said Mariano.
But the victim’s mother, Sarry Joy Naco, said she won’t forgive her sister-in-law. She thought Mariano was envious of her and her child because they were being treated well by her mother-in-law.
“Alam ko inggit din ‘yan sa akin at sa anak ko sa pakikitungo ng biyenan namin,” said Naco. “Pero ilang buwan na kong umalis sa bahay, bakit binuntunan pa niya anak ko [But I already left the house months ago, why would she still take her anger out on my son]?”
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