BAYWATCH. A Philippine Coast Guard officer keeps watch at La Milagrosa Cove in Badoc, Ilocos Norte in this undated photo. Various stakeholders in Ilocos Region convened in Batac City on Friday (March 15, 2024) to discuss the drowning-prevention campaign. (Photo courtesy of Coast Guard Station-Ilocos Norte)
LAOAG CITY – Ilocos Norte is strictly enforcing the requirements for local lodging facilities that has swimming pool or body of water to have a lifeguard on duty and for children below 10 years old to wear life vest when swimming.
In a briefing on Friday, Dr. Medeldorf Gaoat, provincial board member and chair of the committee on health, said the requirements are part of the province’s revised tourism code.
Also part of the new rules are for villages with rivers, creeks, dams and other recreational facilities to have trained watchers or first aid responders.
On Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire led stakeholders who conducted a briefing at the Teatro Ilocandia in Batac City, Ilocos Norte to promote drowning-free communities through intensified education and awareness drive.
Ilocos Norte’s Provincial Health Office recorded 27 deaths due to drowning in 2023.
Lt. Joseph Christian Sagun, head of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Ilocos Norte, said they have intensified the conduct of baywatch patrol to promote public safety.
"Basic life support training are likewise conducted for our village peace keeping officers,” he said in a briefing on Thursday.
Evangeline Dadat, chief operations officer of the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Ilocos, said they train lifeguards on water safety, rescue, and survival techniques.
“Part of the DOT accreditation of establishments include the presence of lifeguards or first aider and for swimming pools to have appropriate signages or pool rules,” she said.
The Ilocos Norte police, on the other hand, have deployed tourist cops in key destinations.
PCG-Ilocos Region information officer Ivhanne Rillon, in an interview on Friday, underscored the importance of learning basic swimming survival skills.
“Let us try to learn to swim because it is a survival skill that we can use for ourselves, our loved ones and others who need help,” he said.
He said several municipalities in Region 1 have passed ordinances prohibiting swimming from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“Let us comply with this, not because it is a law but because it will be safer for us to follow. When it is dark, it is difficult to see our companions even if we are swimming with a buddy,” he added. (With reports from LIza Agoot/PNA)
