Minglanilla mayor orders probe on resort drowning

This screencap shows the drowning incident in a resort in Minglanilla town in Cebu that claimed the life of a 20-year-old man identified as Claire Remocaldo. | Screencap from video of RJ Vicada Bacalso

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad ordered to suspend the operations of the resort where a 20-year-old barista drowned last Wednesday, July 13. 

Enad, in a statement published on social media, also said they instructed the establishment in question to shed light on the tragedy that claimed the life of Claire Remocaldo, a barista from Carcar City, southern Cebu. 

In the meantime, the local government has begun conducting its own investigation to determine if the resort had any lapses, and to identify which areas needed improvement to ensure guests’ safety. 

“It is high time we promote the municipality not only as a fun tourist destination but also as a safe tourist destination,” said Enad. 

Some of the initial recommendations the municipality has given to the resort included hiring more licensed lifeguards, procuring additional floatation devices, ensuring depth markers around the pool can be seen visibly, installing an elevated lifeguard station with a full view of the pool, and adding more personnel to monitor security cameras. 

Remocaldo was in a resort in Barangay Tungkil last Wednesday, July 13 for a team-building activity. 

Initial investigations from the police showed that the victim jumped into the pool at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday. 

However, resort-goers only took notice of his lifeless body underwater around 30 minutes later, prompting them to call for the lifeguards on duty. His body was retrieved around 3:50 p.m. 

A mouth-to-mouth CPR was performed on the victim but it failed to revive him. When he was sent to a nearby hospital, physicians declared him dead on arrival. 

Based on CCTV footage recorded by resort-goer RJ Vicada Bacalso, other people swimming in the pool at the time of the incident also did not notice that the victim was in distress.

Bacalso said he recorded the video with someone from the resort watching since they wanted to check if there was foul play involved.

Enad, for his part, extended his condolences to the grieving family, and assured them that ‘justice will be served’. 

This is not the first time a drowning incident was recorded in the same resort.

Archives from local media reports showed that at least three deaths due to drowning have already occurred there way back in 2016. 

Minglanilla is a first-class municipality located 19 kilometers south of Cebu City. / with reports from Paul Lauro 

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