MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children’s Protection Center (WCPC) said on Thursday it is coordinating with social media platforms amid a rise in online child-selling cases in 2025.

In an interview with reporters, WCPC chief Brig. Gen. Maria Sheila Portento said eight people were arrested last year for selling their babies, up from five in 2024.

“Marami ang sites na sa online na kung saan ito ‘yung mga sina-cyberpatrol. Hindi ako puwede magbigay, but we are closely coordinating with the social media platforms and then requesting them para i-take down because this is a simple way of advertising itong kalakaran na mali (There are many sites online that are being monitored. I can’t give any information, but we are closely coordinating with social media platforms and requesting them to take down these sites),” she said.

Portento said the accessibility of online platforms has made the crime more prevalent and alarming.

“Just to give you the data that we have. For the past two years, nagkaroon na kami ng rescue ng 13 na sanggol. Lima nung 2024 and then walo nung 2025 (Over the past two years, WCPC operations have rescued 13 infants, five in 2024 and eight in 2025),” she said, clarifying that the data covers only WCPC operations and does not include cases outside online platforms.

Financial hardship was cited as the most common reason by those arrested, but Portento emphasized that parents who cannot care for their children may surrender them legally through the National Authority for Child Care.

“Puwede naman kasi nilang i-surrender nang hindi nila pagkakakitaan (They can surrender the child without profiting from it),” she said.

Meanwhile, WCPC operatives arrested a 17-year-old mother in Quezon City on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to sell her one-month-old baby for ₱55,000. The infant and the teenager were turned over to the city social services department, while the minor faces possible charges of human trafficking and violations of Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.