Boy, 15, kidnaps toddler in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Quezon City yesterday for allegedly kidnapping a two-year-old girl in Quiapo, Manila.

A jogger saw the boy carrying the toddler, who was crying, as he was walking in the Quezon Memorial Circle at around 7 a.m., according to Senior Inspector Rowena Lambojo.

She said the boy claimed the P3,000 found on his person represented his earnings from selling recyclable materials.  Lambojo, who talked to the boy, said the teenager practically lived on the streets as a scavenger.

It was not clear how the two managed to reach Quezon City and when and how he snatched the girl in Manila, investigators said.

Lambojo managed to trace the boy’s mother, who was on her way to see her son yesterday afternoon. They have yet to determine the identity of the girl.

Quezon City Police District director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said the boy will be turned over to social workers, adding that they are looking into the possibility that the teenager could have been used by a syndicate to kidnap children.