Missing Madeline Oskamp

I hope that Madeline finds this page, sees that we are missing her and contacts me. Or otherwise, maybe you know her or the mother. There is a court order demanding the return of my daughter and an arrest warrant for Madelyn Cosmiano Maarat, the mother. Also, I received many questions about the situation, which I will answer here. A lot of false information is being spread around. This is a way of setting the record straight.

Madeline was taken by her mother. How can a child be kidnapped by her own mother?

Normally in the Philippines, custody is automatically awarded to the mother, especially for children under 7 years. However, there are exceptions. If a mother has been proven to be unsuitable, custody can be awarded to the father. That is what happened in this case. The mother was arrested on 17 September 2019 for use of a false marriage certificate. She refused to hand over my daughter and instead insisted she would be sent to an orphanage by the DSWD (social services). I filed for an emergency custody order, which was granted so I could take Madeline home. She was with us for 2 years and 7 months, until she was taken away from us illegally.

What is this fake Marriage all about?

The mother had a fake marriage registered. In 2018, using that fake marriage she filed several fake criminal and civil cases. She had me and my live-in girlfriend arrested on a fake domestic abuse charge. Within 3 days, she filed a fake concubinage case against my girlfriend and me, claiming she was the legal wife, and my girlfriend a mistress, indicating this was all planned in advance. She filed for annulment of the fake marriage to get my assets. Furthermore, she filed cases for spousal support, a hold departure order, a deportation order and another bogus child support case. It took me over a year in court to get the fake criminal cases dismissed. After 6 years finally I got the fake mariage removed from the registry as well.

You are a rich foreigner. How do we know you didn't just bribe the court?

As a foreigner in a court case versus a local Filipina, I have to have very strong evidence. The Philippines is a proud nation, and there certainly is not a lot of acceptance for foreigners trying to abuse the system. Regarding custody, after the emergency order, the DSWD did a full investigation, visiting our home as well as the mother and interviewing Madeline as well. In the interest of Madeline, they confirmed my custody on 13 April 2020.

How do we know you are not lying? The mother claims you married her to get Filipino citizenship.

In 2023 the court issued the resolution that the marriage was a forgery and needs to be removed from the registry. This was finally done by April 2024.

On the day of the alleged marriage, I was at home with my live-in girlfriend. I have never been to the location described on the fake marriage certificate. The marriage license was a fake, as attested by the registrar of Nueva Ecija, where it was supposedly issued. I never lived in Nueva Ecija, nor did the mother. The solemnizing officer (sort of a priest) testified he had never seen me nor the mother. He was not even authorized to solemnize the marriage. There are no wedding pictures or videos. My signature was falsified, which was also proved by a forensics analyst. The witnesses are just fake names. There were no other people present. When questioned under oath, the mother claimed she doesn’t have any memory of the wedding ceremony and cannot recall where it was held or which restaurant the marriage was celebrated afterward.

An investigation concluded the wedding was organized by a one-stop-shop for fixing marriages in Caloocan. They told our informant they can register a marriage within 10 days without any requirements or participation of the groom. Their price even included one (1) free wedding ring.

This is the ‘chapel’ which was run by the so-called priest.

Notice the offer of a free single wedding ring.

As for my alleged motivation for a marriage, a foreigner does not get Philippine citizenship through a marriage. As I am a permanent resident with an SRRV retirement visa, there is no need to get citizenship. And if I wanted to marry, I could have asked my live-in girlfriend and mother of my other daughters. The real reason for this fake marriage was made clear in the annulment case, when the mother made an explicit claim on my properties.

To be clear, did you ever abuse the mother?

Absolutely not. The domestic abuse case the mother filed in 2018 was false. The case was dismissed. The claimed injury was fake and likely just make-up. I was not living with her. She didn’t go to the hospital. When she filed the claim, there was no medical report of the injury. This would explain why she didn’t shed a tear when she was filing the complaint. To get sympathy, she can cry on cue, as I have seen many times in her court appearances. She must have been afraid the make-up would smear and expose her lies.

Any other abuse the mother claims cannot even have happened, as I was not living with her. Since my daughter was born I have only seen her a few times to visit my daughter. However, I did pay child support of about 40,000 pesos per month, and paid extra for school and medical fees. I also paid for a house and lot for my daughter and the mother to live in.

When the mother filed for bail and was released from jail, why didn’t you return the child?

The child support I was paying was not reaching Madeline. The greedy mother was keeping almost all of it for herself. Madeline was in poor health. She was skinny, her teeth were in bad condition and she had never been to a dentist. Even though I paid for her to go to a good international school, she was just going to a simple local school that functioned more like a daycare facility. She was 5, but Madeline couldn’t go to the bathroom by herself, dress herself and needed assistance with eating. She didn’t speak any English and even though she is smart, her overall academic ability was poor. When she had custody the mother also made it extremely difficult to see my daughter or in any way cooperate for the benefit of Madeline, destroying all hope of a normal co-parenting arrangement.

How was Madeline doing while she was with you? The mother accuses you of abuse.

Madeline settled in quickly. We immediately enrolled her in two top schools, brought her to a dentist, bought her her first real shoes, and provided her with everything else she needed. She quickly learned how to speak English and became an independent and confident learner. She played a lot with her 4 sisters and we took her out for family holidays. My girlfriend always treated her equally and soon Madeline started calling her mama. Madeline indicated to us she didn’t like her name. It is very similar to her mother’s, so everybody always mixes up the two. She preferred the name Jasmine as it is a Disney princess. As the singing voice of Jasmine is a Filipina, we thought it a good name, so we all started calling her Jasmine at home. She didn’t ask about her mother, but occasionally was inquiring about her cat and sometimes her brother.

The subject of the mother was made all the more difficult as she barely showed any interest in seeing her daughter. In court she was actively trying to get my money and claim custody so she could get child support. But even though the mother had weekly visitation rights, in 2½ years she didn’t bother to make an appointment. Only once, during the pandemic did she request a video call, which we promptly organized. It seemed the mother was only interested in the money for child support, but not interested in seeing her child. Not even a message on Madeline’s birthdays.

When finally after 2½ years the mother requested visitation, we immediately complied with the request. After a few visitations the mother didn’t return Madeline. She has cut off all contact and we haven’t heard from her since. Not knowing where she is, and how she is doing is like having a hole in my heart. All of us are missing her terribly.

Why do you think the mother is doing this?

Initially greed and jealousy. When she faked the marriage, she was probably hoping for a quick way to put me in jail, take my money and get me deported. The fact that she had my live-in girlfriend put in jail on false charges as well indicates jealousy played a big role too.

But her scheme backfired and now she is living the lie, probably even believing her own lies. She gets support from peddling this false story about how her arrogant and evil rich foreign husband raped and abused her. Combined with her acting talents, being able to cry on cue, and a cute young daughter, this allows her to get money from her family and credit from anyone who is taken in by her scams.

Why don't you just let it rest. Don't you have enough daughters?

When both parents are fighting, only the child suffers. Why don’t you just stop?

As a parent, nothing is worse than losing a child. Just because I have other children, doesn’t mean the pain is less. The mother has gone completely black. I also contacted her family, but they are just lying to me, pretending they have no way of contacting the mother. As a result I have been completely cut off and have no idea how Madeline is doing. No caring parent would accept that.

And I have serious reasons to fear for Madeline's safety and wellbeing. She is now with her mother, a fugitive of the law, moving from one hiding place to another, mostly in gang and drug infested areas. I have reports the mother is now a druguser and gangmember. There is no indication Madeline is going to school or is even allowed to play outside or with friends. It looks like the mother has no financial means except for what she is scamming off other people. Without getting any updates, it is only normal to seriously worry about my daughter. Telling me to give up is like telling me I shouldn’t care about my daughter.

What do you have to say to the mother?

You should think about your daughter. She is a person, not your personal possession. Her interests come first. I am willing to drop any criminal charges for kidnapping, negotiate a reasonable visitation schedule and offer rehab for drug addiction, if you just bring Madeline home. She surely misses her sisters, and she is enrolled at the British School Manila. Many mothers dream of having their children go to such a school. You are the only one that stops her own child from attending. You are on the run, a fugitive. What you are currently doing has no future, certainly not for our daughter. Under the current circumstances, it is only a matter of time before Madeline will be raped or sold into prostitution. Please stop lying to the world and yourself, and bring her back so she will be safe and able to continue her school.

What do you say to people who don’t believe you?

I could have walked away from my daughter, like so many other men do, leaving the mother alone to raise the child. I had already broken up the relationship with the mother before she even found out she was pregnant. But I chose to sign the birth certificate, attend her baptism, pay generous child support and even bought a house for her to live in with her mother. Why would I do that, if not out of love and responsibility for Madeline? However, it is easier to believe a tearful poor local mother instead. But I hope that when you see the real facts, you will realize the true victim is not the mother, but the child.

Why don’t you try to settle this case, in the interest of your daughter?

I wish it would be possible. So far in all these years, the mother never showed remorse and only doubled down in her efforts to scam me using the fake marriage. And how do you make a settlement with a person who lies in court and falsifies official documents? Any settlement would not be worth the paper it is written on. My family also still remembers how the mother violently attacked my live-in girlfriend while she was breastfeeding our newborn, who was just released from intensive care. The mother seems filled with hatred, greed and jealousy and has shown blatant disregard for the welfare of Madeline. Nonetheless, the mother is welcome to contact me to find a solution in the benefit of Madeline anytime.

How can we help?

If you have any information about this case, please message me on WhatsApp/Viber/Telegram at +819033580954 or email erik@oskamp.com. There is an outstanding arrest warrant for the mother and an additional court order for Madeline to be returned. If you speak with the mother, from what I understand, there is no point arguing with her. She will cut off anyone who questions her lies. I am offering a cash reward of PHP 1,000,000 (US$ 17,000) for the golden tip that brings back my daughter.