Missing 8-year-old boy  found begging for alms in Quiapo

MANILA, Philippines — An eight-year-old boy who went missing last November was rescued while begging for alms in Quiapo, Manila, on Saturday night.

Chief Inspector John Guiagui, head of the Plaza Miranda precinct, said policemen were looking the possibility that boy’s alleged kidnapper Noel de Leon, was part of syndicate that has been abducting children to turn them into beggars.

Guiagui said the boy was reported missing in Quezon City on November 13. Prior to that, he was seen playing with De Leon for several times.

On November 13, however, De Leon asked another kid to invite the boy to play in a computer shop.
“That was the last time the boy’s parents saw him,” Guiagui told Inquirer.

De Leon reportedly brought the boy to different places to beg for alms. This include Pampanga, Quezon City, and Sta. Cruz, Manila.

On Saturday, however, a friend of the boy’s father saw the kid begging for alms in Plaza Miranda. This prompted them to inform the parents and the police.

At 9 p.m., an arrest and rescue operation was simultaneously launched. Guiagui said this was the first time that De Leon was arrested in Quiapo.  SFM