Student drowns while spearfishing in Borbon

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 20-year-old student died after he drowned while spearfishing in Barangay Poblacion, Borbon town, on Monday morning, June 23, 2025.

The victim was identified as Cyrelle Rivera, an incoming 4th-year BS Nautical Science student and a resident of the said place.

Isagani Montejo, chief operations officer of the Borbon Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), said that the victim’s relatives reported the incident at around 5 p.m. yesterday.

According to Montejo, Rivera went spearfishing alone at around 9 a.m. yesterday without any breathing apparatus, after his cousin declined his invitation.

“Mouli kuno na siya mostly 12 noon, pero nadiskobrehan nila nga wala pa gyud mauli,” Montejo said.

(He would usually return home by around 12 noon, but they discovered that he still hadn’t come back.)

READ: Bohol resort owner’s son drowns while spearfishing in Panglao

They initially thought that the victim might have gone somewhere else after spearfishing. However, his family became worried when, by around 2 p.m., he had still not returned home.

After the incident was reported to authorities, Montejo said they immediately conducted a search and rescue operation in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

However, they ended the operation at around 9:30 p.m. due to poor visibility caused by heavy rainfall that afternoon.

“Ganiha, ni-resume mi sa among search and retrieval operation na pagka alas-6 sa buntag,” he added.

(Earlier, we resumed our search and retrieval operation at around 6 a.m.)

Other DRRMO units from nearby towns also assisted in the operation, including DRRMO teams from Bogo City, Catmon, Tobogon, and Sogod, since Borbon had no available technical divers.

When they reached the seawaters of Sogod, a neighboring town of Borbon, they saw a fish pierced with a spear floating near a buoy.

The rescuers believed it belonged to the victim, so they focused their search in the area.

The first batch of divers failed to locate the victim, but the second batch successfully recovered Rivera’s body in a hunched position at around 31 meters underwater.

“Nakit-an siya sa mga divers nga nagtuob ang position sa lapukon nga bonbon,” he revealed.

(The divers found him in a hunched position in the muddy seabed.)

They believe the victim may have failed to resurface and drowned. In addition, Rivera was unable to release the 24-kilogram weight strapped to his waist.

They also noted a wound on the victim’s face.

“Basin napangka ang nawong sa biktima sa mga gasang tungod sa kusog nga sulog,” he added.

(The victim’s face may have hit the coral due to the strong current.)

Authorities are currently conducting further investigation into the incident.

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