Between denial and lying

BECAUSE management of the Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House has denied responsibility for and lied about the taping of the mouth of a newborn, the nurses on duty when the incident allegedly happened are sustaining the lie by saying they did not do it.

Last Friday, Arianne Mae Pacula and Kamille Isabela Neri told the inter- agency task force that is investigating the incident that they did not tape the lips of Ryan Noval and Jasmin Badocdoc’s son, whom the couple has named Yohaness.

Pacula, who was monitoring the infant inside the Mother and Child Room of the Special Intensive Care Unit, said she was also surprised when she was confronted by Jasmin on why the baby’s mouth was taped. There was also the presence of a pacifier in the baby’s crib.

Jasmin visited her baby on the evening of May 9 to breastfeed him. The boy was left in the maternity house’s care after he was born last May 3 for further monitoring. Although Pacula did not directly accuse Jasmin of taping her baby’s lips, she insinuated that it might have been the latter’s handiwork. They were the only persons in that room that time.

If Jasmin or Ryan did it, what was their motive? Extortion? Publicity? I think there is no parent in their right sense who would use their innocent baby for personal gain. Again, Ryan and Jasmin chose that hospital because they believed that its personnel could take care of the mother and child. Unfortunately, the contrary happened.

The management tried to divert the issue by accusing Ryan that his visit to the nursery, a supposed highly- sterilized and restricted area, was not authorized. If it was unauthorized, then why didn’t the nurses on duty drive him out?

I am telling hospital management not to muddle and divert the issue. The issue here is, who did the taping? That’s it. Period.

Here’s a thought from one of our readers, Mike Boylan of Argao regarding this issue. “Dear Mr Nalzaro, “The newborn baby was not just confined in the hospital, it was in the Special Intensive Care Unit ( SICU) of the hospital because of a lingering infection. It flies in the face of all reason that a nurse or nurses would deliberately tape a baby’s mouth in this condition to stop its crying. Would any sane person risk blocking an airway and killing a baby in the likely event of vomiting?

“In the absence of irrefutable proof I cannot believe it. But based upon the comments of people reading these newspaper articles, millions of others apparently do. The Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House and the nurses involved have been excoriated and vilified worldwide as this story has ‘ gone viral’ thanks to social media entities like Facebook and Twitter.

“But, to date, the family has not filed a complaint; it is reasonable to ask, why not? The nurses maintain they didn’t do it. Instead of giving newspaper interviews and making unsubstantiated allegations via Facebook, the parents should file the complaint by executing the sworn affidavit and let the investigation run its course. Let us find the truth.”