DUMAGUETE CITY – A woman with special needs, who went missing for about 10 years, was reunited with her family in Sibulan, Negros Oriental, after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) “rescued” her from her live-in partner in Tarlac.
CHR-Negros Oriental provincial head and special investigator Dr. Jess Cañete disclosed on Monday that Teresa (not her real name) was separated from her family when she was about 12 years old.
Last Friday, CHR authorities proceeded to Paniqui, Tarlac to “rescue” Teresa from her live-in partner of six to seven years after her family saw some posts on social media on her whereabouts, said Dr. Cañete.
The CHR authorities succeeded in taking Teresa with them despite the refusal of her live-in partner, but due to inclement weather in the Luzon area, they had to travel by land – instead of by air over the weekend – until they arrived here Monday, he said.
At the CHR-Negros Oriental’s office Monday morning, the mother of “Teresa” recounted how her special child went missing when she was still 12 years old.
According to her, her daughter, who is now 22 years old, has memory lapses and could not give a detailed account of her experiences. Cañete also attested to this following an interview with “Teresa”.
“Teresa” had gone to Manila with her mother, when the latter had to undergo a surgical procedure. But one day, “while there, nangluod daw ning si Teresa then nilayas (Teresa was sulking and ran away) and since then, she was never found,” and so the mother returned to Sibulan, said Cañete.
Teresa narrated that when she ran away, she stayed at the Luneta Park until authorities from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) spotted her and brought her to a halfway house.
A policeman offered to adopt her and took her home to live with his family, which she said treated her well.
However, when the policeman died, the wife became “abusive”, which made her run away again and go back to the Luneta Park, said Cañete.
Teresa said this time, a woman “picked her up, guidala siya sa Tarlac, gipasulod ug beerhouse (was brought to Tarlac, made to work at a beerhouse),” he added.
Afterwards, a gay male brought her to Paniqui, Tarlac where she was left in the hands of a security guard (name withheld) who was separated from his wife, and “live-in daw sila diretso, walay uyab-uyab (they immediately lived together without having gone through courtship),” Cañete said.
“The rest is history,” he added, stressing that it is impossible to file charges against the woman’s live-in partner or others for lack of proper identity. The only thing that matters now is that “Teresa” is reunited with her family.
Dr. Cañete thanked the CHR-Region 3 personnel, headed by lawyer Jas Regino, “who immediately dispatched a team, leading to the successful rescue of the said special child”. (Mary Judaline Partlow/PNA)
