THE father of the two children who were rescued from a tree house in Lapu-Lapu City on Tuesday, January 30, 2023, said he has to leave his kids to find ways to support them.
The father, who asked not to be named, currently works part-time in a porridge cafe.
He said he has had no communication with his wife since she left for Manila, but added that based on her family's account, she already has remarried another man. He could not confirm this yet, though.
The father requested assistance to return to the Municipality of Oslob in southern Cebu, where he can resume his job as a tourist guide in Barangay Tan-awan.
He said he was among those greatly affected by the decline in tourism business during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the reason why he and his family moved to Lapu-Lapu City to look for work.
One of the residents in Lapu-Lapu owns the tree house, which the man and his children frequently use as a place to sleep due to the lack of a permanent residence.
The father said he could not leave his children with his relatives in Oslob since they were still young and in school.
He said he attempted to visit his children at the homecare, but the Lapu-Lapu City Social Welfare and Development Office personnel did not permit him at the time since some requirements still needed to be processed.
The two children, aged two and four years old, were rescued by the CSWDO in Barangay Agus on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, as they were allegedly living by themselves in the tree house.
A concerned citizen reported about their condition to the CSWDO, saying the children often had no food to eat and the food donations from neighbors were not enough to sustain them. (HIC/With PR)
