00:00There are four cousins in Davao Occidental
00:05whose families hid them in the mountains
00:08so the public won't be able to see them
00:11because they are often attacked by thugs.
00:15What conditions do they have?
00:21Once, a home visitation was conducted
00:24by Romnick, a public school teacher
00:26in one of the most remote communities in Davao Occidental,
00:31the city of Lablabon, in the mountains of the town of Malita.
00:36He noticed two children
00:41who were living in a hut.
00:44But when he approached them...
00:47They were leaving the hut
00:49and went into the room where they were hiding.
00:52It was the first time they saw a different face.
00:56But what he thought were children
00:59who wouldn't go beyond four steps up
01:03were actually not children anymore.
01:05And their faces looked like they were of an adult.
01:09We were shocked by their reaction.
01:11They were embarrassed and scared of people
01:15because their families hid them in the mountains.
01:19There were 10 cousins.
01:21I hid 15 cousins.
01:24I didn't see them for a day.
01:27They took my cousin's child.
01:31They took my child.
01:33They couldn't run away.
01:34They threw stones at us.
01:36They were very aggressive towards my children.
01:39They didn't enjoy being with normal children.
01:44They didn't want us to live with them.
01:49What are their conditions?
01:51And why did they seem like they were being played with by time?
01:58Before they reached the site of Lablabon,
02:04they had to ride for almost two hours.
02:17And they had to trek for another two hours.
02:22In this cave,
02:24there were brothers Joshua and Angelo,
02:2716 and 19 years old.
02:29Their tongues and teeth were very sharp.
02:33It was hard for them to reach their fingers.
02:37I couldn't even breathe.
02:40I couldn't sleep.
02:41I couldn't even hold my breath.
02:44I couldn't breathe.
02:46I didn't want to go far away from here.
02:52I couldn't even hold my breath.
02:56According to their mother, Myrna,
02:58it was normal for her to abuse her siblings.
03:01I was raised like that.
03:03When I grew up, I was raised like that.
03:06But when her older brother, Angelo, grew up,
03:09she noticed something different.
03:11When I was young, I was raised like that.
03:15Some of my classmates were like that.
03:19When I was young, I was raised like that.
03:22Myrna was surprised to find that
03:24out of their five children,
03:25only Angelo and Joshua were different.
03:28Yes, they were all different.
03:31Some of them were like that.
03:32I couldn't even hold my breath.
03:34I couldn't even hold my breath in my house.
03:38But in their remote area,
03:40it wasn't just Angelo and Joshua who were like this.
03:45Half an hour away from their house,
03:51John Rho and Erwin, 17 and 13 years old,
03:56arrived at the house of their cousins.
04:01John Rho didn't say a word.
04:03I didn't say anything.
04:05I didn't say anything.
04:07But Erwin insisted.
04:10That's why my children are my cousins.
04:15I am proud that they are my cousins.
04:19Because of their situation,
04:21Angelo was the only one who went to school.
04:25But just for six months,
04:27she was forced to stop her studies.
04:30I couldn't go to school.
04:33My classmates told me that I couldn't go.
04:39They told me that my children were being forced to go to school.
04:44After six months,
04:46they forced me to go to school.
04:49I was so sad.
04:51My children told me that I was being forced to go to school.
04:54I was forced to go to school.
04:56It was painful for me.
05:03Because of Angelo's experience,
05:06Myrna and Marina decided to hide their children
05:11in a remote place that could be harmful to them.
05:15They are not allowed to go out of their house.
05:18They are not allowed to go out.
05:20They are not responsible to the people.
05:22They were forced to go out.
05:23They are not allowed to enjoy the same as normal children.
05:27Our life is not good, sir.
05:34This is why the couple grew up with many people.
05:39I am very happy with them.
05:41I want them to be happy in our house.
05:46But the couples were sometimes hidden.
05:53In 2021, Teacher Romnick met with an accident
05:57while he was doing a home visitation to his students in the mountains.
06:06At first, we were surprised.
06:09We didn't know that children have that kind of condition.
06:13Because Teacher Romnick respected the importance of education,
06:17he forced Marita and Merna to go out,
06:20Joshua and Angelo,
06:22as well as their cousins, Johnro and Erwin,
06:26to study.
06:31The cousins are now in Grade 2.
06:34I made a big adjustment, sir.
06:36In the 6 months that I taught them,
06:38I got to know them better.
06:41In the past, they were isolated from people.
06:44Now, they are slowly learning how to socialize.
06:56Angelo learned how to read, write, and dream.
07:07Teacher Romnick is a licensed criminologist.
07:20But because he has a heart for service,
07:24he devoted his time to becoming a teacher.
07:36I told my students,
07:37if you leave, we will leave too.
07:40We will not study anymore.
07:41They are like my family.
07:43I am sacrificing my own family.
07:49Teacher Romnick didn't just want the cousins to study.
07:54He also wanted them to receive medical treatment.
07:58Merna predicted the condition of the cousins.
08:01They were infected with the disease.
08:05When my mother gave birth,
08:07her heart was very weak.
08:11She died when she was 30 years old.
08:19But because the family's income is not enough,
08:22from selling coffee and growing corn,
08:25they were not able to get the four of them consulted.
08:29I only have 200 pesos.
08:31I don't want them to suffer.
08:32I want them to be strong.
08:33I don't want them to suffer.
08:36With the help of Teacher Romnick,
08:37last year,
08:39Angelo, Joshua, Jandro, and Erwin
08:43consulted a specialist.
08:44They found out that they have a condition
08:48called Hunter's Syndrome.
08:50This is an X-linked genetic condition.
08:53Its prevalence is 1 in 100,000 to 170,000.
08:59That's how rare it is.
09:00Eventually, there will be delays in development.
09:03There will also be problems in the heart.
09:05The connective tissue is also affected.
09:07Because it's not that strong,
09:10there will be loss in the umbilical area.
09:13It needs surgical management.
09:15However, this disease is incurable.
09:19The management is using enzyme replacement therapy.
09:22It's possible that it will slow down the manifestations.
09:24But when there are manifestations,
09:26it won't reverse.
09:27Their lifespan will be shortened,
09:29from 20s to 30s.
09:30I was able to handle it.
09:32They're all the same.
09:33My uncle is in his thirties.
09:36He's lost in the world.
09:38I hope that he will be cured
09:42by other specialists.
09:44Meanwhile, this week,
09:46we accompanied their check-up.
09:49Most of them have a pulmonary and cardiac problem.
09:52Joshua and Angelo have the same problem.
09:54They have a hole in their heart.
09:56Erwin has the same problem.
09:58He has an umbilical hernia.
10:00There's a developmental delay.
10:01John Doe has lustrosis.
10:03He also needs surgical intervention.
10:05They can operate here.
10:07We're free here.
10:08And so that they can recover
10:11from the times they went through as children,
10:14on this day,
10:15our team brought their cousins
10:18to the mountains
10:19to pray.
10:27I'm so happy.
10:32Meanwhile,
10:33the local government unit of Malita
10:35provided financial and food assistance.
10:38They also promised to look for a scholarship
10:41for their cousins.
10:42Thank you for your help.
10:44Thank you so much for your help.
10:51I'm so happy to be back
10:54and to be able to help people.
11:01Thank you for your appreciation
11:04for what you've done for us.
11:09There are so many questions
11:11that we can't answer.
11:13There are so many culprits in the world.
11:16Why are they the ones
11:18who have to suffer like this?
11:20Did they play with time
11:23and fate?
11:25There's an expert foreigner
11:32who gave strength
11:35and hope
11:37to the small and weak.
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