Newborn found inside paper bag

CEBU, Philippines - A newborn was found alive inside a paper bag yesterday morning in Sitio Sto. Niño, Barangay Basak in Lapu-Lapu City.

Rubylyn Cambor, a resident of the area, was on her way to the market around 6 a.m. when she saw that something moved inside a red paper bag in front of a store.

Her curiosity aroused, Cambor went near the paper bag and found to her shock a baby boy wrapped in gray cloth with the umbilical cord still attached to his navel.

Police Officer 3 Jennifer Sarapuddin of the Basak-Marigondon Police Station 4 Women and Children Protection Desk, said the baby was alive but did not stir when discovered.

She said Cambor alarmed nearby residents on what she found and even called for police assistance.

The incident was also captured in a video that was uploaded in the Facebook page of “Cebu Flash Report.”

As of 8.30 last night, or around seven hours after its posting, the video already garnered 74,000 views in the said social media site.

Because they could not yet determine who left the baby outside the store, Sarapuddin said he was turned over to the Lapu-Lapu City Hospital for medical attention.

Jae Honey Badio, Lapu-Lapu City Hospital medical social worker, told reporters that the baby’s breathing is elevated and he has a contusion above his left eye.

“(But) he is in good condition now,” she said, adding that the baby would be transferred to Norfil Foundation in Sitio Sangi, Barangay Pajo.

Norfil Foundation is a non-government organization that collaborates with the Norwegian government through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. It caters to the welfare of children and women, including families in need.

Cherry Mayol, a social worker under Norfil, said they were ready to accept the baby as long as the city hospital will endorse him through a letter addressed to them.

She said that if the baby would be turned over to Norfil and a couple would go to their office to claim him, a certification from the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Development should be presented.

“The couple…(should) ask for a certificate to prove that they are the real parents of the baby,” Mayol said. — (FREEMAN)