BY JUN ARIOLO AGUIRRE and RUBY SILUBRICO
KALIBO, Aklan – The happy moments of a family celebrating Mother’s Day in Brgy. Navitas, Numancia, Aklan ended in tragedy.
Two brothers and a nephew drowned while swimming on Sunday.
Police identified the three victims as Raynold Cipriano, 29; his brother Raymond Cipriano, 26; and their nephew Gian Cipriano, six.
Rescued was Quennie Baylon, 21, a friend of the Cipriano family. She is a resident of Brgy. Lawaan, New Washington.
The Cipriano family and their relatives were celebrating Mother’s Day at the beach and were about to go home to Brgy. Andagao, Kalibo when the unexpected incident happened.
According to Senior Insp. Bernard Ufano, Numancia police chief, the incident happened around 5:40 p.m. while Raymond, with his nephew Gian perched on his shoulders, was walking down the deep portion of the sea.
They were last seen alive shouting for help.
The elder Raynold Cipriano tried to rescue them but he also drowned.
Their visitor, Kevin Baylon, succeeded in pulling them up the shore but he was injured.
Baylon is now confined at the Aklan Provincial Hospital.
Ufano said after several hours of search and rescue operations, rescue volunteers retrieved the three unconscious victims.
His men immediately responded and brought the victims to the hospital using their patrol car. However, the patrol car accidentally hit another car.
As a result, Gian’s mother Jezza and Benny Apolinario, a member of the Philippine Coast Guard, were injured.
Ulfano said the Cirpiano brothers drowned because “they don’t know how to swim.”
Ulfano added that an unidentified mother on board the car that had collided with the police patrol car carrying the drowning victims had also died./PN
