Disaster chief urges Alegria to suspend river canyoneering

CEBU, Philippines - The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office  yesterday recommended the suspension of canyoneering activities in Alegria town, following the death of a tour guide over the weekend.

“Ato lang nang suggestion nga i-suspenso usa while i-review pa ang policy sa munisipyo… munisipyo unsa’y buhaton? Safe ba gyud? Registered ba ang tour guide? Trained ba?” PDRRMO chief Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. said yesterday.

The guide, Aldrin Carba, 26, went missing past midday Saturday when a strong current hit him while he was supervising 22 guests from Manila and Cagayan de Oro. His body was found 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Carba was said to be guiding 22 tourists along Kanlaob River in Alegria town when the incident happened.

 Tribunalo said Carba might have had three other guides with him but it appears only him was well-trained. He said it was not easy to handle 22 tourists especially that the water at that time was treacherous due to the rains.

Tribunalo said participation of local residents helped a lot in retrieving Carba’s body. He said the search team was already hours into the operation when Marcelo Purgatoryo, Epifanio Purgatoryo and Nestor Purgatoryo, volunteered to help. In just about five minutes, they reportedly found Carba’s body.

Tribunalo admitted what the three men did was risky, considering that they dove into the river near the waterfalls with nothing but their goggles on.

“Gimano-mano ra gyud nila og sawom. Kinahanglan naa untay supervision. Dapat naay pisi aron maka-monitor ta sa ilawm,” Tribunalo admitted.

He said the three men only asked for a bottle of liquor to ease the cold.

The team that searched for Carba was composed of personnel from PDRRMO, municipal DRRMO, the local government, Central Visayas Rescue Group, Philippine Coast Guard, and Office of Civil Defense.  (FREEMAN)