ABOVE AND BEYOND Police Officers 1 (from left) Marygrace Lanaja, Evangeline Evardo and Fatima Manalo are instant heroes. —Photos courtesy of Makati police
Three rookie policewomen went above and beyond the call of duty when they helped a 22-year-old woman deliver her baby boy by the side of a busy road in Makati City on Christmas Day.
Police Officers 1 Evangeline Evardo, Fatima Manalo and Marygrace Lanaja said they were on patrol on P. Burgos Street at Barangay Poblacion around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 25 when they spotted the mother-to-be in the middle of labor.
“We saw her walking around, holding on to her belly and [grimacing] in pain,” Evardo said.
When the woman, whom the police identified only as Divine and a resident of Mandaluyong City, sat on the sidewalk, the three policewomen immediately went to her aid.
Manalo said she called up the police operations center and requested for an ambulance.
No time to wait
The baby, however, was already on his way out, prompting Evardo to sequester a cardboard box which she asked Divine to lie down on. With the help of Lanaja, she delivered the baby.
The mother was later admitted to Ospital ng Makati where she was still recovering. The police said that both she and her baby were in stable condition.
“It was a very special moment, especially when the baby cried for the first time. He was so cute and healthy-looking,” Lanaja said. “[The moment became] more special because it happened on Christmas Day, when Jesus Christ was born.”
“It was special because we were also blessed — all babies are a blessing, and it was very unusual for a police officer to respond to such cases,” Manalo added.
Praiseworthy
Makati assistant chief of police for operations, Chief Insp. Gideon Ines, praised the three policewomen for their actions.
“What they did was a commendable act, going out of their way to help someone in need. They applied what they learned in their first-aid training,” he said of the three who were deployed in the area as tourist police patrollers.
In a statement, Ines added: “The whole [Philippine National Police] takes pride in their selflessness and dedication to duty. Their actions are indeed one of the PNP’s many ‘good deeds’ that need to be shared and emulated by all personnel.”