COTABATO CITY – For performing classic and heroic acts, five members of the indigenous peoples (IPs) were recognized by North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco on Saturday.
Their great courage was recognized after saving four girls, two of them swept by a strong current following heavy downpour in Makilala, North Cotabato on Friday afternoon.
Aside from recognition and honors, the five men eventually earned employment as members of the North Cotabato provincial rescue team.
Catamco honored Cesar Pampangan, Nobenloi Laresa, Richard Cuenca, Julius Onto and Ramcis Damali after their rescue efforts went viral on social media.
The men rescued Aziah Yhanes Deo, 7, and Mayzel Cortez, 3, who both slipped and were swept away by rampaging waters at a roadside drainage canal in Barangay Kisante, Makilala, North Cotabato.
Seeing two of the four children carried by floodwaters, the IPs followed the girls while running along the roadside yelling for help.
“The girls were almost drowning when they were seen on and off the water. As soon as the girls floated, the men jumped into the drainage system and saved them,” Catamco said.
The horrifying event was captured on mobile phone video and uploaded on social media which caught the attention of the governor.
After extending help to the parents of the rescued girls, Catamco turned to the five IP men, all members of the Manobo community, congratulated them and offered them job opportunities.
The girls are now recuperating in a hospital in Makilala town.