CITY administrator Teodoro Sabuga-a yesterday said the drowning death of 8th grader James Cloyd Casiño at the Kagay-an Lawndale Spring Resort pool on Sunday morning was unusual in that no one in the crowded pool and the lifeguards around it saw the teenager struggling for life.
Sabuga-a said this even as Mayor Oscar Moreno gave city hall investigators looking into the drowning death five days to submit their findings to him.
Sabuga-a said a day after city hall created a special investigative body, headed by the City Legal Office and co-chaired by Councilor Jay Pascual, to look into the death of Casiño.
He said Moreno also expects to receive recommendations from the investigators.
Sabuga-a said the group already had an initial meeting on Monday, and it was pointed out that there were other people who nearly drowned in the pool since city hall reopened the resort in Taguanao, Indahag.
“Naluwas man tong mga una tungod sa atong nagbantay nga mga lifeguards,” said Sabuga-a.
But what happened to Casiño was unusual, said Sabuga-a, because no one saw the teenager struggling in the pool.
“Kon na-ay ingon ni-ana nga insindente, ang unang mahitabo magkapakapa pa man gyud tong tawo nga magkaunlod na sa tubig, so makapa-alarma sa mga tawo nga na-a sa palibot. Pero ang nahitabo ni Casiño, wala gyuy kasikas nga nahitabo. Kon nagkapakapa pa to siya sa wala pa siya maodlod sa tubig, daghan kaayo ang makatabang pagescue niya kay dagkan man ang nangaligo adtong tungora, ug na-a pa gyoy atong mga lifeguard,” he said.
Sabuga-a said he watched the CCTV camera recording, and it showed no one struggling on the surface.
He also said the lifeguards were around the pool at that time and they, too, saw no one struggling.
The victim, a 16-year old student at the Misamis Oriental General Conprehensive High School (Mogchs), was found underwater by one of the people in the pool. Lifeguards then rushed to rescue Casiño but they failed to resuscitate him. The teenager was declared dead on arrival at the JR Borja Memorial General Hospital.
The resort manager, Gilda Casiño, claimed that the three lifeguards — Jesus Javier, Alexis Ceasar Rosales and Lorenzo Almonte — were well-trained by the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. (nitz arancon)
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
