Man who snatched toddler not part of gang, probers say

MANILA, Philippines - The man who tried to sell a toddler in a slum area in Parañaque City is most likely not part of a crime syndicate, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) officials said yesterday.

The man who tried to peddle Lovelio Mendoza Jr., who was kidnapped in Quezon City Tuesday morning, left the toddler in the care of a couple in Baclaran and even gave his supposed name – Dennis Nabua – and left his photo with the couple, QCPD Station 2 commander Superintendent Pedro Sanchez said.

The man’s actions indicate that Mendoza’s kidnap is not the handiwork of a syndicate, he said.

Even before the couple returned Mendoza to his parents on Friday, QCPD director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano ruled out the possibility that the boy had been kidnapped for ransom.

QCPD deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said the man was reportedly peddling the child for P5,000 and when there were no takers, he asked to leave the child with the couple.

He also asked for P1,200 he supposedly needed to travel to his hometown in Pangasinan, with the promise that he would come back for the child he claimed was his son.

Sanchez said they were still investigating if the man who left behind the child was the same one who kidnapped the boy in his neighborhood in Barangay San Antonio Tuesday morning.