A 17-year-old domestic worker from Bocaue, Bulacan, accused her employer and two other fellow house helpers of abducting her four-month-old baby.
According to reports by GMA, the domestic helper woke up and found her baby missing in the middle of the night, January 28.
The domestic helper initially thought that her employer, Lolita Rellama, took the baby to her bedroom to sleep with her.
“Kinakatok ko na po ‘yung kwarto niya [Rellama], pabalik-balik na po ako, pero wala po talagang sumasagot kaya kinabahan na po ako,” the baby’s mother said.
She immediately went to the police station to seek help. In a follow-up operation, they found the baby in the hands of Rellama and her fellow housemaids identified as Lady Mairel Orlanda and Fritzias Lumanglas.
CCTV footages also showed Rellama, accompanied by Orlanda and Lumanglas, carrying a baby out of her house at three in the morning.
The suspects said that they did not kidnap the child. Rather, their defense was that the baby was sick and needed medical attention.
“Pinagamot kasi, tulog ‘yung ina. At kagabi pa lang ipinaalam ko na sa kanya ‘yun… Walang katotohanan ‘yung bintang na ‘yon kaya hindi ako nag-aalala na mapawalang bisa ‘yung kaso niya,” Rellama said.
“Hindi po namin intensyon na kuhanin ‘yun. Inaalagaan po namin ‘yun,” the other suspect also said.
However, the domestic helper argued that her baby was healthy and was not feeling any kind of discomfort. She also said that her employer have expressed interest in adopting the child in the past.
Bocaue police commander Police Superintendent Jowen dela Cruz said that claims of the suspects and the timing of the incident were questionable.
“Sabi niya ipagagamot. Eh wala naman pong sakit itong bata at makikita naman po natin sa CCTV kung paano po ang ginawa nilang pagplano para sa pagdukot sa bata,” Dela Cruz said.
Rellama, Orlanda, and Lumanglas were all charged with kidnapping.
