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While there have been cases of parental neglect like the drowning of a five-year-old girl named Mikaela Sol Bolido at a river in sitio Bato, barangay Ermita Cebu City over the weekend there have been instances where parents themselves are to blame for the misfortune of their children.
Such was the case of two parents who allowed their daughter, a sampaguita vendor, to accompany an American named Preston Jay Kuntz despite the possibility that she may be sexually abused.
The girl went missing over the weekend as reported by social workers who had custody of her and the parents denied she went back home to them, even if the girl was caught talking in hushed tones with her mother.
Whether there was any truth to their claims, one cannot determine as of the moment but for now, there is support outside of the Children's Legal Bureau whose task force to monitor and curb sex tourism had borne three cases in at least two months.
But while the parents of the sampaguita vendor may have made a conscious decision to sacrifice their daughter, albeit out of gratitude to the American, a 20-year-old mother who was reported to have suffered from post-partum depression is facing charges for placing her infant in danger after she tried to jump off the second floor of a pension house in Cebu City.
The young woman was taken into custody by social welfare personnel hours after police shoved her back to safety.
While it may be all's well that ends well for the mother, the fact that she placed her child's life at risk is not something to gloss over.
Post-partum depression, while rarely serious, does cause the mother to act irrationally to the point of even wanting to kill their children.
If confirmed, Oberes's case isn't unique.
Actress Brooke Shields, whose post-partum depression was the subject of an NBC interview that had actor Tom Cruise condemning her for using drugs or medications to cure her ailment, went on a nationwide campaign to inform women about the real dangers of this post-birth experience.
A similar campaign could be started on the local level especially in the grassroots level where women don't have access to adequate medical attention to learn more about the condition.
In these two cases, we find poverty a common denominator.
Their decisions and actions may be shocking, even condemnable for some, but the message is clear on both fronts.
They have to face the consequences of their actions but they also need help.
