THE Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) is reminding the parents accompanying their children in public places to be mindful of the five-minute rule.
“Once mawala sa paningin ninyo yung anak ninyo within five minutes, ma-alarma na kayo,” PRO-Davao spokesperson Major Catherine dela Rey said.
(Once your child is out of your sight for five minutes, you should be alarmed.)
This reminder also applies to relatives like uncles, aunts, siblings, and cousins who are accompanying their young relative in public places, do not be overconfident.
She said that parents should not just entrust their kids to strangers, even for a few minutes.
“We do not know what is running in the minds of some people, maybe due to the influence of social media,” Dela Rey said of unscrupulous individuals targeting unattended children in public places.
On February 17 of this year, a case of abduction was reported in Davao City’s Centennial Park.
The mother entrusted her two-week-old baby daughter to a woman whom she had just befriended. The woman would run away with the baby but leave the infant healthy and alive three days later, near a public market, two kilometers from the park where the baby was taken.
In another case last year, police rescued a baby who was taken from her mother at the Southern Philippines Medical Center. The suspect offered to carry the baby as the mother was pumping breast milk. She would later run away with the infant, and the mother immediately reported the incident to the police.
Dela Rey said that in case the child is out of your sight for more than five minutes, the parent or guardian must look for the child, or if it cannot be found immediately, inform any security personnel of the establishment.
“Ayaw ta magkompyansa that the child is just there playing, running around. Pangitaa ang bata,” she said.
(Let's not be complacent assuming that the child is just playing or running around. Look for the child.)
If it is in the malls, go to the security guard and request access to the CCTV; or in public places, one must call the police, Dela Rey advised.
She said the police can coordinate with the establishments in the vicinity where the child was last seen to see if they can look at their CCTV. PIA DAVAO
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