Boys drown in Taguig cemetery’s lagoon

Death came for two adolescents in Taguig City when they sneaked into a private cemetery in Fort Bonifacio on Sunday. Mateo Cayugan, 12, and John Rick Quiñones, 14, both from Palar Village, drowned in the lagoon at The Heritage Park on Saturday afternoon.

In a phone interview, Taguig City Rescue chief Ronald Galicia said the boys, along with another friend, sneaked into the cemetery by climbing over a low wall on Bayani Road. “They wanted to go fishing at the lagoon,” Galicia said, quoting the victims’ 13-year-old friend who witnessed the drowning.

After scaling the wall, the boys landed on another wall surrounding the lagoon. However, Cayugan, who could not swim, lost his balance and fell into the water. Quiñones jumped in to save him but both of them ended up drowning. Their friend ran to inform security guards about the accident.

The cemetery administration tapped the city rescue team and Philippine Coast Guard for help. The boys’ bodies were recovered around 4 p.m. that same day. Galicia said Coast personnel estimated the lagoon to be 15 feet deep.—Jaymee T. Gamil