MEMBERS of government search teams found past 3 p.m. Thursday, November 4, 2021, the body of a 12-year-old boy who drowned while gathering seashells in the waters off Aduana Port in Cebu City.
The boy was identified as Raven Fajardo, a resident of Barangay Hipodromo. He was found by the personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard, Special Rescue Force of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Fajardo was with two male adults, Romelito Abiso and Roel Binalayo, two adult women and two other minors before the incident happened. They were all in one pump boat.
Abiso and Binalayo said they did not want Fajardo to go out with them at sea past 12 p.m. Thursday. The boy, they said, was adamant on going with them, telling them that he had obtained permission from his mother.
Fajardo’s father Ronaldo, 38, was overwhelmed with grief after learning of the death of his son, his third child.
Ronaldo said he could not understand why his wife allowed their son to go out to the sea to gather seashells, saying he is working hard to put food on the table for his family. (BBT / KAL)