A 16-year-old mother shocked her family by stabbing dead her baby girl in the rural village of Kalingking, barangay Saavedra, Moalboal town, southwest Cebu last Sunday.
The infant, one year and nine months old, died of seven stab wounds int he chest.
The teenage mother tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself in the chest.
She was brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City for treatment.
One possibility raised was that the teenager, a single mother, suffered from post-partum depression or some emotional turmoil.
The incident took place in her bedroom past 5 p.m. on Sunday.
While her 63-year-old grandmother was preparing supper in the kitchen, she heard the teenager shouting.
Upon entering the bedroom, the old woman found the young mother and her baby girl lying blooded on a native mat (banig) on the floor.
The baby was rushed to the town’s health center where she was declared dead by Dr. Cesay Mahinay, the town’s health officer.
The mother was rushed by ambulance to the Badian District Hospital and was later transferred to the VSMMC.
Police recovered the 12-inch kitchen knife used in the violence.
In a phone interview, PO2 Rommel Gaco of the Moalboal police said they will refer the teenage girl to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The grandmother told police that that the 16-year-old earlier went on Saturday to seek medication from their neighbor who is a faith healer.
Ever since the teenager arrived from Manila about three weeks ago, she had difficulty sleeping and would often go out of the house to stare blankly in space while deep in thought, said the grandmother.
Police said her father was unemployed and her mother was in Manila.
The father was out gathering seashells when the incident happened.