Five-year-old boy cited for saving lola from fire

TWO YEARS after he single-handedly saved his wheelchair-bound grandmother from a fire that razed their house, a 5-year-old boy was finally cited for his heroism.

On Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) awarded Edmund Jon Nipay, a native of Jones, Isabela, for his heroic act at a ceremony held in Pasig City. He received the Gawad Kalasag for Heroic Acts in the individual category.

The Gawad Kalasag is given to those with outstanding contributions in disaster risk reduction and management and humanitarian assistance, and those who exhibit extraordinary courage, heroism and sacrifice in times of emergencies.

“We urge our honorees to remain persistent in their efforts of developing more effective means to address the challenges of disaster risk reduction  in the country,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

The youngest awardee, Nipay was only 3 years old when he saved his paralyzed 60-year-old grandmother from a fire which started in their house in Jones, Isabela.

The boy’s father, Edgardo, said he and his wife Rose left for the public market on July 17, 2014, to sell snacks during a power outage in their community.

He added that their son, who would usually accompany them to the market, had insisted on staying home with his grandmother, Adoracion, who became paralyzed after suffering a stroke the previous year.

When the power came back inside their house, the sudden surge of electricity caused a fire to break out, Edgardo said.

Adoracion told her grandson to save himself but the boy pushed his grandmother’s wheelchair outside the burning house where neighbors came to their aid.

“I pushed the wheelchair because I did not want my grandmother to die,” the NDRRMC quoted the boy as saying.

Nipay then went back to the house to retrieve his grandmother’s eyeglasses and cell phone so that they could call for help. “If it happens again, I will do it to save my grandmother,” the boy said.

Aside from Nipay, 32 other individuals and organizations were also recognized by the NDRRMC.

Also feted were the Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Council, the Legazpi City DRRMC in Albay, the Pasig City DRRMC, the Barangay Yoros DRRMC in Legazpi City; the Barangay San Juan DRRMC in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, and several others.