JANUARY 7, 2026 — Minglanilla, Cebu has just witnessed one of the most disturbing stories to open 2026: a puppy carrying the severed head of a newborn, later suspected to have been aborted and abandoned. 

Residents of Purok 10, Lubas 1, Barangay Camp 7 were stunned when they realized it wasn’t a doll but a baby’s head. 

Police Lt. Col. Theresa Macatangay confirmed, “Naalarma siya kaya nilapitan ang tuta hanggang sa nahulog ang ulo ng sanggol.” 

(He was alarmed, so he approached the puppy until the baby’s head fell.)

Authorities searched for the rest of the infant’s body but found only bloodied clothes nearby. The dog was later discovered with blood in its mouth, leading investigators to suspect the body may have been consumed. 

The head now rests in the bone chamber of Minglanilla Public Cemetery while police hunt for the baby’s mother and whoever may have abandoned the child.

Are we losing our grip on humanity?

Beyond the gruesome details, what does this say about us as a society? Crimes today seem to grow more horrifying, more careless, more devoid of accountability. How did we reach a point where life itself is discarded like trash?

In the Philippines, abortion remains illegal. Yet this case forces us to confront a painful paradox: If this was indeed an aborted fetus, would legalization have prevented such a ghastly crime? Would regulated medical procedures have spared this child from being abandoned, mutilated, and left to be carried off by a dog?

We Filipinos pride ourselves on family values, on protecting life, on faith. But when stories like this emerge, we must ask: Are our laws protecting life, or are they pushing desperate people into darker, more dangerous choices?

(Image: YouTube)