City Hall to look into death of 4-month-old infant

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Hall officials are now investigating the report that a four-month-old child died in Talamban last Wednesday after his parents, who were playing cards left him under the care of a six-year-old brother, who was allegedly chained to make sure he won’t leave the house.

It was city health officer Fe Cabugao, who asked for an investigation after a resident of Talamban went to the Cebu City Health Department to ask for a medical certificate so they could bury the dead infant.

The one who went to the City Health Department claimed that the infant died because his mother left him while she played a card game popularly called ‘tong-its’ at a neighbor’s house.

Social worker Charisma Rengquijo of the Department of Social Welfare and Services quickly proceeded to sitio Wakwak in Talamban to investigate the report, but she failed to find the couple who were already at the cemetery to bury the dead.

But Rengquijo requested Alma Seno, an employee of barangay Talamban assigned to the Gender and Development (GAD) section, to be the one to investigate the report.

Seno was able to talk with the child’s mother identified as Divina Trana, 25, but the latter vehemently denied that she was playing cards when she left their house and left the child to the care of her six-year-old son.

 According to Seno, the mother claimed that she was washing their clothes several meters-away from their house when her child died. She also denied that she chained the older child.

“Akong gipangutana ang sayes-anyos nga bata, miingon man hinoon kini nga wala siya igaid adtong higayona. Pero sa una kuno, dihay higayon nga gihigtan siya sa iyang Papa aron dili makalakaw gikan sa balay,” Seno said.

Trana narrated that her baby was a premature child and had cough for five days already that prompted her to bring him to the barangay health center in Talamban last Wednesday morning, but since the doctor was not around, she decided to just go home.

After they arrived home, Trana reportedly fed the child cereal then gave him a broth of boiled “gabon” leaves, because they did not have milk that time.

Trana’s common-law husband, Antonio Campaner, is a polio victim and works as a cook.

 “Nahibulong na lang kuno ang maguwang nga bata nga dili na man molihok ang iyang manghod dihang iyang gihagwa-hagwa. Namatay na diay ni nga nagbuka ang mata,” Seno said.

Rengquijo said she advised the barangay officials of Talamban, particularly those neighbors of the couple, to monitor the six-year-old child, because she is afraid that they will inflict harm on him for telling to the authorities that there was once that he was chained. — Rene U. Borromeo/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)