TABUK CITY, Kalinga -- Residents are pressing their long-standing appeal to concerned authorities to have the dangerous irrigation canals here properly fenced to avoid accidents.
This canal poses a serious threat to people, especially to children. According to reports, a number of victims fell prey to this dangerous canal.
Reports from Provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) have it that on April 1, at around 1:55 p.m., the office responded to another drowning incident at the irrigation at the back of Department of Education-Tabuk City Office.
The latest victims in this canal were Jessa Mae Palactao, 9, student at Bulanao Elementary School, and David Cusay Palactao, 12, student at Bliss Elementary School.
The two students, who were playing near the irrigation canal, turned to the nearby faucet to wash their hands but slipped and fell off to the canal.
Based on the reports, David was found at 5:15 p.m. while Jessa Mae was found at 5:39 p.m. Both were brought to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital and were confirmed dead on arrival.
It was not the first time an incident like that happened in the canal.
Last April 18, 2021, a family outing ended in a tragedy after the vehicle they were riding fell into the irrigation canal, killing 13 people, most of them children at Barangay Bulo, Tabuk City, Kalinga.