Kidnapped newborn from Marikina Hospital rescued

A four-day-old infant kidnapped from a government hospital on the day after Christmas was reunited with his mother Monday after police tracked the suspect to Pasig City.

The infant was born 25 December at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center. Authorities said a woman posing as a nurse entered the postpartum ward the following day and abducted the child.

The suspect was apprehended Monday in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, following a review of security footage from the hospital and surrounding areas.

Marikina Police Chief Col. Jenny Tecson said the suspect, who recently suffered a miscarriage, allegedly kidnapped the baby out of fear of telling her parents she had lost her own child.

“The suspect was driven by the fear of not being able to bring home a baby to her parents as their first grandchild,” Tecson said. Relatives of the suspect told police they believed she was still pregnant and due to give birth this month.

According to investigators, the suspect bypassed security by dressing as a medical professional. She reportedly entered the ward and asked mothers whose children had not yet undergone newborn screening. The victim, who was half-awake at the time, handed the infant to the suspect. The mother alerted hospital management when the “nurse” failed to return with the child.

The case gained national attention after the infant’s grandfather appealed for help on social media, a move that bypassed hospital internal protocols but resulted in a viral post viewed more than one million times. The suspect told police she considered returning the child after seeing the post but was paralyzed by fear.

Meantime, Marikina Mayor Marjorie Ann Teodoro expressed relief at the child’s recovery but called for a review of hospital safety.

“As a mother, this incident is heavy for me, especially since a hospital should be a safe place for babies and families,” Teodoro said.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, on the other hand, said he would order all public hospitals to install additional security cameras and tighten protocols to prevent similar breaches. Hospital management admitted the suspect appeared to have studied their security patterns to avoid detection.

Police categorized the case as closed following the recovery of the child and the suspect’s surrender. Tecson recommended the suspect undergo a mental health evaluation and clarified that she is not believed to be part of a kidnapping syndicate.