Body of 8-year old boy who fell in Caloocan creek recovered in Marilao River

The body of an eight-year old boy who fell into a creek in Caloocan City was recovered in the Bulacan portion of the Marilao River in Bulacan on Tuesday morning.

According to Jun Veneracion’s 24 Oras report, Jhaycob Anderson Manrique fell into the overflowing creek in Barangay 176 while playing in the fast-moving waters on Monday.

His body was found by a search party on Tuesday morning floating in the river 15 kilometers from where he disappeared. The child’s identity was confirmed by his father, Jeronel.

“Ang laki pala ng pinagdaanan ng anak ko. Biruin mo, inabot ka dito sa Marilao. Inisip ko gaano siya gulong gulong. Dapat ako na lang sana,”  Jeronel said.

(My son went through a lot. Imagine, he reached Marilao. I kept thinking  how he struggled. It should have been me instead.)

“Usually, pag may ganoong drowning doon sa side na yun, sa north natin ang daanan ng tubig going to Marilao River,” said Dr. James Lao, chief of Caloocan Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

(Usually, if there are drowning incidents on (Caloocan side), the water current will go north to the Marilao River.)

Maricel, the boy’s mother, said she could not believe that her son was gone.

She said she should not have allowed her son to play in the rain since she did not know he would go to the overflowing creek.

“Mahal na mahal ko sya, sir. Hingi ako ng sorry sa kanya. Hindi ko siya natulungan, hindi ko sya nasaklolohan noong mga oras na kailangan niya kami ng daddy nya,” the mother said.

(I love him so much, sir. I would like to ask for his forgiveness since I was not able to help him, I was not able to save him during the time he needed us.)

According to residents, this is not the first time that someone has fallen into the creek.

“Dapat matakpan na siguro para wala na pong ibang madamay na batang kasing laki ng anak ko mga batang maliliit,” the boy’s father said.

(The creek should be covered so that small children like my son will not fall in and drown.)

Authorities are inspecting the creek to find a solution.

“Baka pwedeng palagyan ng mga screen para maharang sya para hindi rin mangyari yung ganun,” Lao said.

(Maybe they can put up screens to block the creek so that we can avoid similar incidents such as this.) —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News