The Department of Health (DOH) has called for stricter security measures in hospitals following two recent cases of newborn abduction in Manila and Marikina City.
Speaking at a press conference at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC) in Marikina, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the DOH is considering protocols similar to the United States’ Amber and Silver alert systems to quickly locate missing individuals.
The Amber Alert, or “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,” is a child abduction notification system that coordinates law enforcement, media, communication providers, and transportation agencies. Silver Alerts operate in a similar manner for missing elderly or cognitively impaired individuals.
“We will be starting these protocols. Similar protocol, pag may batang nawala, pag may elderly nawala, acute patient,” Herbosa said.
He noted that while tagging systems for babies and patients are already in place, some suspects may have taken advantage of relaxed security measures and a skeletal workforce during the holiday season.
“All babies have a tag, all patients have a tag. There is a system in place pero may masasamang tao talaga. Even in the US, mayroon silang amber alert kasi ninanakawan din sila ng bata,” he added.
He said hospitals would heighten vigilance during the holidays, citing increased risks of distraction and “salisi” tactics. Among the measures being considered are stricter entry and exit controls and tighter enforcement of identification requirements.
Herbosa also urged private and local government-run hospitals to strengthen their own security protocols against possible abductions.
The call followed the abduction of a newborn from ARMMC on December 26 at around 11 p.m. Marikina police said CCTV footage showed a female suspect wearing a scrub suit and posing as a nurse while approaching mothers on the hospital’s fourth floor.
Marikina Police Chief Colonel Jenny Tecson said the suspect asked which mothers had not yet undergone newborn screening for their babies. While two mothers refused to hand over their infants, a 20-year-old mother, who was half-awake at the time, gave her baby to the suspect along with some documents.
After taking the child, the suspect reportedly placed the baby in a bassinet and escaped through the emergency room. Police later tracked her movements through CCTV, showing her riding a tricycle toward a nearby mall before transferring to a car and heading to a hospital in Pasig City, where she was picked up by her boyfriend.
Tecson said hospital staff were instrumental in identifying the suspect, noting that one staff member saw her without a face mask, which helped authorities recognize her.
On December 29, an attempted newborn abduction was reported at Tondo Medical Center shortly before midnight. Hospital Chief II Dr. Maria Isabelita Estrella said a nurse intercepted a woman who was pretending to be medical staff and attempting to take a baby for supposed newborn screening.
The suspect fled after being confronted but was later arrested and placed in police custody. Authorities said the suspect had recently suffered a miscarriage, which allegedly motivated her actions.
Police later confirmed that the suspect in Tondo was not the same individual involved in the Marikina case. Further investigation led authorities to locate the missing baby and the Marikina suspect at their residence.
Tecson said the suspect admitted stealing the child out of fear of disappointing her relatives, who were expecting her to bring home a baby. The suspect and her boyfriend are now facing charges of kidnapping and failure to return a minor.
While both incidents have been resolved and were described as isolated cases, police and the DOH acknowledged that syndicated abductions do exist.
Meanwhile, Herbosa said he has instructed the National Center for Mental Health to assess the two incidents as possible cases involving mental health concerns.
