• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Two minors from Panay who allegedly tried to elope were rescued by the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
The 12-year-girl had previously been declared missing from Jaro, Iloilo City, before being spotted by a concerned citizen with her 16-year-old boyfriend, who is a resident of Dueñas, Iloilo.
According to DSSD reports, originally arrived in Bacolod on January 29 and travelled to Bais City, Negros Oriental, to meet their friends, also a minor couple.
The boy allegedly mortgaged his phone and used the money to travel back to Bacolod City.
Upon returning to Bacolod on February 2, the couple stayed at a convenience store near the BREDCO Port, where they were eventually discovered.
The Coast Guard Sub-Station Bacolod then referred the incident to the DSSD who contacted the family of the minors.
The girl’s family claimed her on February 7, while representatives from the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Dueñas personally fetched the boy.*
