CHARGES of kidnapping will be filed today against the 18-year-old woman accused of abducting a three-month-old infant at the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) last Nov. 2.
But while Mary Jane Carizon admitted she did it so she could sell Ladylove Enriquez and earn money for the medication of her own child, nobody could attest she indeed has a child.
Even Carizon’s mother, neighbors and live-in partner had not seen Carizon carry a child other than Enriquez, whom she brought home to Dalaguete the same night the baby disappeared from the CSBT.
“They saw her pregnant, but nobody could confirm that she delivered the child),” said Dalaguete Police Chief Joseph Berondo in Cebuano.
During her pregnancy, Carizon reportedly stayed most of the time in Samboan, the hometown of her live-in partner Michael Petaluna. The latter, though, stayed in Barangay Tayud, Liloan, where he worked as a carton factory.
No child
Carizon’s mother and sister in Barangay Tapon, Dalaguete, also told police they had not seen Carizon bring home an infant other than Enriquez on Nov. 2.
“The neighbors were shocked because they thought Carizon’s child had died,” Berondo said.
Carizon had told police she delivered her child in the town’s rural health unit but investigators did not find any record of the matter there, Berondo said.
Enriquez’s mother Maricel went to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 headquarters yesterday to finalize the documents needed before the filing of complaints against Carizon today.
“(We saw that) all the elements of kidnapping are present,” said Senior Supt. Marlon Tayaba, chief of the CIDG 7.
Tayaba said the incident should serve as a lesson to mothers never to entrust their children to strangers.
In a closed-circuit television camera footage, Maricel was seen letting Carizon carry the baby after a conversation. Maricel, in an interview, said she just let Carizon hold her as the latter looked amiable and trustworthy.
The street vendor added she was also busy entertaining customers that time.
Lesson
Maricel, for her part, said the incident should also serve as a lesson to other police units who thought she was just lying when she reported the incident.
“Sakit sad kaayo sa akong balatian ba nga ingon anaon bitaw ta, abi kay kabos ta, dili lang diay ta tuohan nila ba (It pains me to know that merely because we’re poor, they wouldn’t believe us),” she said.
Before she thought about seeking the help of the CIDG 7, Maricel first reported the incident to the Carbon Police Station, which has jurisdiction of the area surrounding the CSBT.
She also reportedly sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation 7, to no avail. She went to the CIDG 7 last Monday.
Maricel noted that the sincerity of a person’s complaint should never be based on his/her physical appearance or economic status.
“Dili sad sila mo-judge og tawo ba, kay dili baya lalim mawagtangan nga dili ta tuohan (They shouldn’t judge someone like that),” she said.
Carizon and Maricel met again last Wednesday night, two hours after the CIDG 7 arrested Carizon and rescued the infant in Liloan.