Suspected mother of ‘Gulf Air’ baby already with NBI

The woman believed to be the mother of the newly-born infant found in an airplane trash bag last week is already in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The woman, whose identity was withheld, was picked up by NBI operatives in Apayao province in northern Luzon "for interrogation," NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula said on Wednesday. "It is confirmed that our regional office has picked her in Apayao. She was convinced by her sibling to go with them to [the] NBI main office for interrogation," Gatdula told reporters. He said once it is verified that the woman is indeed the mother of the abandoned infant, she will be brought the NBI main office in Manila for further investigation. The woman will be interviewed and subjected to psychiatric evaluation, according to Gatdula. The infant, named George Francis, is now in the care of social workers. He was found in a garbage bin inside Gulf Air flight 154, which landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Bahrain last Sunday. Airport officials found traces of blood on seat number 40-D, which was occupied by the woman who was picked up in Apayao. Many Filipinos are forced to work as domestic helpers laborers abroad, including the Middle East, to escape crushing poverty and unemployment at home. Gatdula said the mother of George Francis could be criminally charged for child abandonment. Under Article 276 of the Revised Penal Code, such a crime is punishable by up to six months imprisonment. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV