Pa who slapped 4-mo. baby charged

A JOBLESS man in San Fernando, Cebu is facing a criminal case after he allegedly slapped his four-month-old daughter in the face.

Jose Tubalado was charged with violating the Anti-Child Abuse Law after he allegedly hit her so hard that her face became swollen and bruised.

Cebu Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Jerome Abarca recommended bail to be set at P80,000.

Jose, 45, told Sun.Star Cebu that he was drunk when the incident happened.

He said he only “tapped” her face to stop her from crying.

Police brought Jose, who used to work as a cleaner, to the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office yesterday morning where the inquest was conducted.

Insp. Gerard Ace Pelare, chief of the San Fernando Police Station, filed the physical injury complaint in relation to Republic Act 7610 (Anti-Child Abuse Law) against Jose before the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor.

Background

San Fernando Municipal Health Officer Alfredo Manugas said the baby suffered multiple hematoma in the face and lips.

The Tubalados live in Barangay Magsico with their three kids aged five, three and four months old.

In her complaint-affidavit, Jose’s wife Aurilia said she told him she was going to the neighboring barangay to seek medical treatment last Tuesday.

She offered to take their four-month-old daughter with her, but he said he would take care of the baby.

When she returned, she went to their daughter to breastfeed her. “I was frightened with what I saw on the face of my daughter. It seems (my daughter) was beaten up. She got blood and laceration on her mouth,” the 36-year-old said in her affidavit.

When she confronted her husband, Jose admitted slapping their daughter’s face and hitting her in the mouth.

He allegedly warned Aurilia not to tell anyone about what he did.

The next day, Aurilia said she reported the matter to the barangay captain, who told the police.

Jose surrendered to authorities peacefully.

PO1 Catherine Gatcho of the San Fernando Police Station said Jose wasn’t aware what he had done. “He said he was very drunk at the time,” she said in Cebuano.

Gatcho said they believed Jose slapped the baby because she wouldn’t stop crying.

Before the incident, Jose reportedly went to the market to buy food. Before returning home, he reportedly drank some coconut wine.

Growing violence

The couple’s other two children were also left in his care while Aurilia was away.

Gatcho said this is Jose’s first brush with the law. “He’s not usually violent,” she said in Cebuano.

Gatcho said Aurilia wants Jose to go to prison for harming their daughter.

“He’s really sorry about what he did,” Gatcho said in Cebuano.

In an earlier report, the Police Regional Office 7’s Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) revealed that the number of cases of violence against women and children increased last year.

Police said more victims reported their situation, as a result of an information drive on violence against women and children.

In January and February last year, there were 260 cases, or 14 more than the same period from the year before.

In Cebu City, rape topped the list of offenses against children, with 15 cases.

Physical injuries, kidnapping, trafficking and child labor were also among the cases reported to the WCPD.