Outstanding policewoman dreams big for street kids

CEBU, Philippines — A promising officer who strived to become an exemplary model to the younger generation, especially the ones on the street, is the region’s Officer of the Week.

Police Officer 1 Krishel Jumuad of the Danao City Police Station Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk was picked as Best Police Non-Commissioned Officer of the Week for going the extra mile just to arrest suspects who attempted to kidnap a three-month-old baby, who would have been sold for P25,000.

According to records, Jimmy Say-a, 29, and Bridgette Eping, 33, of New Bago, Asturias town, went to Danao to sell candles.

They slept in front of the City Hall with their two children ages, three years old and three months old in Barangay Poblacion when Jimmy noticed in the morning of September 16 that their three-month-old baby was missing.

When he was frantically looking for the child, other vendors told him that they saw a woman covered in what seemed like a blanket holding a baby leave the area riding a trisikad (rickshaw).

 He was able to catch up with the woman when a concerned citizen gave him a ride in his motorcycle.

They were able to get hold of the suspect identified as Jessica Besabella, 46, and escorted her to the nearest police station.

It was Jumuad who processed the booking and extracted information from Besabella, who confessed that she would have sold the baby to a buyer named Kim Jean Bating, 20, who was looking for a baby to adopt.

Jumuad then posed as the suspect to set up and entrapment and continued texting the buyer for them to meet-up. They agreed to meet by 1 p.m. in a fast food chain in Danao City.

But it was only around 10 p.m. when Bating showed up. When the “transaction” was made, Bating was immediately arrested by waiting policemen.

 Chief Inspector Gerard Ace Pelare, Danao City Police Station chief, said the incident was what made Jumuad to be named PNCO of the week.

 Pelare praised the initiative of Jumuad, whom he said was one of those rare police officers who work without being told.

Jumuad who is also a mother and a wife, said no one actually believed that she could make it when she trained to become a member of the Philippine National Police in 2012.

Somehow, she said, people only saw her feminine side and perceived this a drawback in not succeeding to become a police officer.

 However, even with the unsolicited advices and comments of other people, Jumuad got more motivated to persevere and work harder.

Jumuad was actually a registered nurse and working abroad beckoned, but she chose to serve others within our country.

Her soft spot are children, and she worked to provide attention to street children. She said that part of the station’s weekly program of the WCPD is to gather street children, feed them, and then educate them on trafficking and online sexual exploitation.

She said that even with small things she hoped to become an inspiration to these children that they may also dream big. (FREEMAN)