Ma nabbed for killing own baby in Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Authorities arrested a 21-year-old mother for allegedly killing her own daughter in Matalam, North Cotabato.

Senior Inspector Elias Dandan, chief of Matalam police, identified the suspect as Jocelyn Lavandero, 21, of Barangay Bangbang, Matalam.

The arrest came a day after the suspect allegedly killed her one-year-old daughter around 4 p.m. Monday, Dandan said.

Wilma Ma-aya, Matalam social welfare officer, said it was an official from Barangay Bangbang who gave authorities hint about the killing of a one-year-old girl in their village.

During the investigation, Lavandero admitted she killed Novie Joy after slapping her hard.

The girl's tantrums reportedly irked the suspect, so she hit the child.

She, however, did not expect the girl would die, she told authorities.

"For fear the suspect might be placed in prison for hitting her own child, she dug a shallow grave and placed the girl there. Later did she know that by doing that, she committed murder ‘in the first degree,'" Ma-aya said.

The social worker hinted the suspect was suffering what she termed as "post-partum blues."

"She bore a child out of wedlock. The father of the child, not her live-in partner, failed to support her and the baby," she said.

Ma-aya said Lavandero became pregnant in 2011 when she worked as domestic help at Quezon City.

"She returned to their home in Matalam town when she was kicked out from her job. Despite what happened, her live-in partner, Edgar Bolivar, accepted her. But whenever the suspect saw the child, she reminded her of the father," the social worker said.

The police, including the social welfare office, are bent on filling parricide against Lavandero.

This, she explained, was despite the fact that Lavandero's husband and her relatives are not keen on making the suspect pay for the crime she committed.

"What the suspect did was unthinkable. It was not just simple killing. It's parricide. It's killing your own child who was innocent, weak, and defenseless," she said. (Mali Cadelina Manar)