TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Tourism 8 regional office salutes Jeric Alconaba of Borongan City, Eastern Samar province, for his bravery in rescuing a drowning child while on duty as a lifeguard at Baybay Boulevard.
Baybay Boulevard in Borongan is a popular destination for beachgoers, surf enthusiasts, and visitors interested in learning to surf, and was the site of the 2019 and 2022 Philippine Surfing Championship Tour legs.
On March 3, Thursday, Alconaba was on duty as a lifeguard at Baybay Boulevard when he noticed several children swimming along Zone 1.
He explained that while he was at the Surf Tower, he noticed a child struggling to swim and then realized the child was already drowning. Alconaba immediately rushed to assist and rescue the drowning child.
Alconaba was one of 34 surfers in the region chosen to attend a four-day surfing instructor training in Guiuan town last year. The training was sponsored by the Department of Tourism Eastern Visayas in partnership with the Academy of Surfing Instructors (ASI).
They have received basic first aid, basic water life support, and water safety rescue training prior to the training. These emergency response training were conducted as part of the Department of Transportation's Tourism Industry Skills Training Program, which is administered by the Office of Industry Manpower Development, with the assistance of concerned Local Government Units.
Tiopes salute Jeric for being fearless and quick to act as one of the DOT-trained surf instructors. They also take great pride in the fact that the training we provide our Eastern Visayas surf instructors may have contributed to his life-saving abilities.
Tiopes also lauded Borongan's City Government, through its City Tourism Office, for ensuring the safety of their beaches by stationing well-trained lifeguards daily.
She stated that this is a best practice for beach areas frequently visited by guests and other sites that offer water activities that destination managers/tourism site operators should follow.
According to Philippine Coast Guard Memorandum Circular No. 03-14 dated April 16, 2014, all beach resorts, swimming pools, and water parks must have a lifeguard on duty to supervise the safety and rescue of swimmers surfers, and other water sports participants. —Tacloban News Update (Source: DOT-8)