A pair is facing 20 years in prison after trying to sell their baby to fund their street food business within the Philippines.
The mother and father, 22 and 19, reportedly put the 12-day-old infant on the market online before they were caught in a sting operation at a busy shopping center on February 2.
Undercover agents posed as customers and arranged a gathering to purchase the infant for £345.
After seeing the pair eating at a neighborhood fast food chain, officers from the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Centre swooped in, arresting themon suspicion of human trafficking and child abuse.
The mother was said to have burst into tears as she confirmed the illegal sale before police put her in handcuffs.
If convicted for trafficking, they may face 20 years in prison – or a life sentence.
Janella Ejercito Estrada, Undersecretary of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), said: ‘They’re facing charges of qualified trafficking, child abuse, and illegal adoption.
‘For the qualified trafficking case, it’s non-bailable, and so they could also be sentenced to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.’
Investigators said the parents planned to use the cash as start-up capital for a street food cart, selling popular snacks like deep-fried quail eggs and fish balls.
The rescued baby was given a check-up and transferred to an accredited child care agency, officials said.
The NACC said in a press release: ‘The lifetime of a toddler is invaluable and mustn’t ever be used as a commodity, and positively not be exchanged for any amount, whatever the circumstances.
The Women and Children Protection Centre (WCPC) of the national police said five babies have already been rescued from being sold this yr, greater than half the total recorded in 2025.
The WCPC said information drives about legal adoption were underway in communities due to ‘rampant’ baby selling within the country.
Baby abandonment stays common within the Philippines, where widespread poverty, poor family planning and inadequate sex education lead to high cases of unwanted pregnancies.
Access to contraception and reproductive healthcare can also be limited within the deeply Catholic country.
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