A mother from Quezon City has been sentenced to life imprisonment after selling her baby for ₱45,000 to settle e-sabong debts.
Her decision, which she later regretted, led to her conviction for child trafficking and child abuse.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 86 handed down the life sentence to the mother—whose identity is withheld to protect the child—and three others involved in the transaction, including a Nigerian national.
After a two-year trial, the court found the four guilty of Qualified Trafficking in Persons under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, specifically Section 4(k) in relation to Section 6(a) of Republic Act No. 9208, as amended by RA 10364.
In addition to life imprisonment, the court imposed a ₱2-million fine on each of the accused, which includes the mother, a middleman, a Filipina, and the Nigerian national.
According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the mother arranged the sale of her baby through a middleman she met online.
The buyer was linked to a Facebook group called “Bahay Ampunar.” The transaction occurred on March 3, 2022, at a fast-food outlet in Quezon City.
Soon after handing over her child, the mother expressed remorse and turned to the NBI Human Trafficking Division for help.
An entrapment operation in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, led to the rescue of the baby and the arrest of the Filipino and Nigerian suspects. The mother and the middleman were later arrested in May 2022.
All four were charged with kidnapping, violating Republic Act No. 7610 (Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act), and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Life imprisonment in the Philippines ranges from 30 years and a day to 40 years without eligibility for parole.