LAW enforcement agencies are not discounting the possibility that a syndicate is behind the kidnapping of a newborn baby from the government-run Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH).

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Dumaguete Chief Dominador Cimafranca said his office will look at this possibility but for now it's important to pursue the charges against the suspect.

Panagbenga 2009 blog

The four-day-old baby boy was rescued by NBI and police operatives in coordination with the Provincial Government through Provincial Legal Officer Erwin Vergara shortly after midnight on March 17, 2009 from the house of suspected Katleen Carl Cañolas in Azagra village, Tanjay City.

Cañolas is a nursing student in one of the universities in Dumaguete City.

Cañolas, charged with kidnapping, is now detained at the city police cell pending her transfer to the Dumaguete City jail in Bajumpandan village.

Dr. Felix Sy, NOPH chief, told Sun.Star the baby was kidnapped around 5 p.m. on March 13, 12 hours after his 34-year-old mother from Bacong town gave birth to him.

Cañolas confessed she took the baby as she and her live-in partner wanted to have a child but she failed to get pregnant. Her boyfriend and his relatives believed she was pregnant.

Senior Inspector Leopoldo Ijan, Bacong police station chief, said a similar modus operandi was uncovered in Metro Manila after the kidnapping from a hospital of a newly delivered baby.

Ijan said a few hours before the kidnapping happened, Cañolas also reportedly tried to kidnap another baby at NOPH.

Cañolas also took and brought the baby to another room for dressing but the baby's grandmother accompanied the suspect whom they also thought was a nurse at the hospital.

The suspect returned the baby to her parents but successfully left with another baby whose parents failed to accompany her.

A report said Cañolas's aunt was arriving from Manila to take the baby with her.

In light of the incident, Provincial Police Director Augusto Marquez Jr. called on hospital administrators to tighten security measures to prevent a similar incident from happening.

He said the police can only respond to calls for assistance in cases like this, but there is not enough police personnel to be deployed in hospitals.

Marquez said hospitals must have safety nets in place as they could be held liable for "negligence" in case a baby goes missing.

The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) is also taking steps to prevent a repeat of the kidnapping incident.