One last summer for 2 H.S. graduating students in San Pablo

SAN PABLO CITY–Two graduating students of a national high school here will not be marching down the auditorium to collect their diplomas as their loved ones and friends had expected.

Instead, Cleverlynn Maderazo Delos Santos, 16, of Barangay San Gabriel and her boyfriend Christian Estrallado, 16, of Barangay Conception, will be buried side by side on Wednesday.

The two met their untimely deaths when they drowned last week, during a summer outing in San Pablo City’s Palakpakin Lake.

They were supposed to graduate this week, according to Delos Santos’ mother, Maricel.

An earlier report said that the victims, together with six other classmates, took a break on March 31 in far-away Palakpakin Lake, after having their clearances signed by the school authorities in preparation for their graduation.

The lake is one of the legendary seven lakes of San Pablo located at Barangay San Buenaventura, which is known among residents as a dangerous place for swimming because of its strong current.

Witnesses said that at about noontime on March 31, the two were enjoying each other’s company until they decided to take a dip at the alluring crystal clear water, oblivious of the treacherous nature of the lake.

They said the drowning happened so quickly. The two students were last seen hugging each other as they struggled to keep themselves afloat but they were still swallowed into the deep by the current.

Maricel told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that it took rescuers until the following day to locate the two victims who were found half buried into the muddy bottom of the lake.

She said her daughter and her boyfriend would be buried side-by-side at the San Gabriel Memorial Garden on April 6 after the common funeral Mass at 2 p.m. at the San Pablo Cathedral.