HER water had broken.
Mariel Botron, a 21-year-old resident of Barangay Basak, Mandaue City, knew then that the child she had been carrying inside her womb for nine months was ready to come out into the world.
With her husband in tow, they went to the Basak Police Station around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, to seek assistance.
Patrolman Semon Villapaña cleared one of the tables inside the station where Mariel could lie down while the couple waited for the vehicle to take them to the hospital.
However, her contractions were getting worse. It was then they knew that she and her baby were going nowhere.
With the help of station personnel, Mariel gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Villapaña then brought the mother and child to the Eversley Childs Sanitarium and General Hospital in Barangay Jagobiao so they could be attended by medical professionals.
Commendation
Captain Emmanuel Rabaya, chief of the Basak Police Station, praised Villapaña for not hesitating to assist Mariel, even though the patrolman had no medical background.
“Ingon niya nga dili na gyud kuno matabang ang kasakit sa tiyan. Manganak na gyud kuno siya. Mao to gibutang sa table diri sa police station, gitabangan nila’g paanak bisan wala sila’y experience,” Rabaya said.
(The mother said she could no longer withstand the pain in her stomach. She said she was giving birth right there and there. That’s why they made her lie on a table inside the police station and our personnel helped her deliver her baby even though they had no experience.)
Villapaña joined the Philippine National Police in 2017. Although he hasn’t been with the Basak Police Station for long, Rabaya described him as a hard worker.
Because of his actions on Wednesday, Rabaya said he will recommend to the Mandaue City Police Office to give Villapaña a commendation.