A17-year old student drowned after swimming in the Kabang Falls in the mountain barangay of Budlaan, Cebu City last Sunday.
Alvin Santillana, operations chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC), identified the victim as Mar Jo Edquila, a native of Cagayan de Oro City who lived in sitio Banawa, barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Edquilla, a first year Business Management student, was with other members of the University of Southern Philippines football team who went for a swim in the area, Santillana said. “The USP football team were in a team building activity headed by Coach Eleasar Toledo and went to the falls after trekking near the area. The victim didn’t surface from the water after diving,” Santillana said.
Edquilla and his three companions Jan Kenneth Escarda, Rico Baldomar and Ralph Paculanang took a dip at 11 a.m. A few minutes later, Escarda shouted for help when he and his companies were unable to find Edquilla.
Santillana and other CCDRRMC personnel were with the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, Pit-Os Emergency Response Unit and Coast Guard personnel when Edquilla was recovered at 6:25 p.m Sunday.
Edquilla was rushed to the North General Hospital where he was declared dead.
The Kabang Falls is a popular trekking and adventure area among tourists.
Cautious
“There are unsafe conditions and also unsafe acts. Then again, you can drown in any body of water no matter how shallow or deep. The most important thing is that you have to be cautious,” Santillana said.
Santillana said he instructed barangay officials to monitor the area.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, who also chairs the CCDRRMC, ordered Santillana to survey the area.
“There are suggestions to close the area but that’s difficult since there are also local tourists who visit the area. The barangay can set up their own rescue team and signages. We will also distribute life jackets for swimmers,” Tumulak said. Tumulak said their initial investigation showed that one of the boy’s legs got stuck between the rocks in the deeper part of the falls.
“We’re still looking on how the Cebu City government can help. Neither the school nor the parents haven’t come to us. For us, we just want safety in the area so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Tumulak said the site lacks directional and warning signages and is not well lighted.
SPO4 Rey Cuyos, city police homicide investigator, said they talked with Edquilla’s relatives here in Cebu City. “We’re waiting on the relatives to decide what action to take,” he said.
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