8-yr.-old boy drowns in a creek after following his father to rice field

Tabuk City, Kalinga – A father in Tabuk City left his 8-year-old son to go and work in his rice field when the latter followed him. This later resulted in a tragic drowning incident.

Around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 15, the dad who is a resident of Pinagan, Lucog, left his son to his grandfather to dredge and reduce the water flooding their rice field. The 8-year-old, Marquez Cangcao Togao, however, was believed to have sneaked out and followed him.

After accomplishing his task, the father recalled to the Tabuk City police investigators that he went back to his son only to find out he was not at the house where he left him.

While looking for his child, the dad noticed the boy’s slippers under the bamboo bridge. This led the father to think his son could have slipped and fallen into the creek when he attempted to cross the waters.

A search and rescue operation was launched by the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Tabuk City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and the community to look for the 8-year-old.

On Friday morning, August 16, the lifeless body of the boy was found along the Chico River in Sitio Dalimuno, Barangay Bantay. The remains were subjected to a postmortem examination.