THIRTY-FOUR people, including 12 children, drowned while three others remain missing during the Holy Week, the PNP reported yesterday.
In a radio interview, PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said two other children were rescued by policemen, preventing them from drowning.
“Twelve of these (fatalities) are 12 minors, some of them were as young as four, five and six,” said Fajardo, adding the eldest was 78.
She said 11 or 12 of the victims drowned after going swimming while under the influence of alcohol.
Ten of the drowning cases occurred in Calabarzon while there were six drowning cases in the Ilocos region, and five each in Cagayan Valley and Bicol.
Last Saturday, the PNP reported cases in Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Davao region.
Fajardo said two of three missing are from Isabela while the third one is from Pangasinan.
She said the two persons were rescued by policemen in Ilocos Sur and Aurora. One of them, a four-year-old from Ilocos Sur, had to be subjected to CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“These incidents were recorded at beaches, resorts and rivers,” said Fajardo.
“We started our monitoring for Holy Week last March 25 (Monday last week). As of 6 a.m. (Sunday), the Holy Week observance is generally peaceful although we recorded some Holy Week-related incidents,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo said the drowning cases were lower compared to the 63 cases reported in last year’s observance of Holy Week.
Fajardo said the PNP also recorded 10 vehicular accidents, four cases each for acts of lasciviousness and robbery, and one case each for frustrated homicide, disobedience to an agent of a person in authority, and fire.
Fajardo said the PNP’s heightened alert status will remain until today. The PNP went on heightened alert Monday last week to ensure the safety of the public during the Holy Week.
“We will be on heightened alert until tomorrow (Monday) and depending on the prevailing situation, the regional (police) directors may extend the heightened alert status in their areas,” she said.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the PCG has not recorded any accident or incident at sea during the Holy Week.
“In so far as maritime accidents or maritime incidents, we didn’t record any,” Balilo told a radio interview.
Balilo said the PCG will remain vigilant in implementing measures to prevent the occurrence of maritime incidents in the coming days as people return to their places of origin.
Balilo said the PCG has not recorded any case of overloading in passenger vessels and attributed this to the agency’s coordination with the PNP.
From 6 a.m. to noon yesterday, the PCG said it has monitored 69,161 outbound passengers and 51,402 inbound passengers in all ports nationwide.
