Online Sabong addict sold her 8-month-old baby for ₱45K
A
mother sought help after trading her 8-month-old baby for ₱45,000 due to stress
and online sabong addiction.
Danica,
the mother of an 8-month-old baby, transacted on an online platform on March 3,
2022, with someone who initially offered her between ₱20,000 and ₱50,000 but
ultimately settled for ₱45,000.
Two
days later, Danica realized her mistake and demanded her baby back. After
several demands, the buyer-adopter blocked Danica on Facebook.
Danica’s
husband admitted that his wife suffers from an online gambling addiction known
as E-Sabong.
According
to a psychology expert, an addiction occurs when a person becomes
uncontrollably invested in something, causing damage to relationships with
family and others.
Commercial Adoption in Social Media
Facebook is an emerging market for illegal adoption and most operating anonymous accounts are mothers, brokers and buyers.
Recently,
illegal adoption has expanded online, like on this page “Bahay Ampunan” as mentioned by Danica,
where the transaction happened. They leverage the loosely regulated platform to
traffic children while hiding from authorities.
Commercial
adoption is prohibited in the Philippines but is prevalent in poor communities.
Commercial adoption is qualified child trafficking in the Philippines and it is
punishable by life imprisonment and fine of up to ₱5,000,000.
It
becomes child trafficking the moment the person diverts the adoption law
process to receive money and profit from it.
Most of the time, we find these people in the slum areas, and they don’t want pregnancy in the first place. So, the moment the child is born, they try to dispose of it and sell it for money.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, has been tracking some Facebook closed groups related to illegal adoption for several years.