3 children found dead in Bulacan river; 1 still missing

Authorities have recovered the bodies of three out of the four children who went missing after they jumped into a river in Bulacan, while one child is still missing.

In a "24 Oras" report from Gabriel Gonzales on Thursday, one of the bodies was found in shallow waters along Barangay Parada in Sta. Maria, Bulacan. It was found around 5:00 pm on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as 17-year-old John Norbert Nipay from Barangay Sto. Cristo. He drowned in the Cabungan River on Monday, according to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

“As per witness… tumalon din po ito sa ilog. Allegedly, gustong maligo or tatawid daw po sa ilog kaya lang po malakas na din po yung current kaya tinangay na din po itong si John Norbert,” San Jose Del Monte DRRMO head Gina Ayson said.

(As per witness… he also jumped into the river. Allegedly, he wanted to swim or cross the river but the current was too strong so John Norbert was swept away.)

CDRRMO Nurse responder Rotsen Diaz said they were walking in the area when someone called their attention to the body.

“Kaya ang ginawa po namin, nilangoy pa po namin sa kabilang side yung bangkay po. Pagdating po doon, nakita na po namin yung bangkay,” Diaz said.

(So what we did was we swam to get to the other side. When we got there, we saw the body.)

Nipay was identified by his black bracelet, which had a cross and bible verse.

Meanwhile, the bodies of two other victims were found in Marilao on Thursday morning, according to the report of GMA News' Oscar Oida.

They were found 15 kilometers away from where they were last spotted in San Jose, Bulacan. Gaya Gaya Barangay Captain Ryan Santos said a fisherman had spotted the floating bodies that were already bloated.

The victims were identified as Ronjean Justine Alceso from Barangay Gaya Gaya, San Jose Del Monte, and Raizen Karl Delos Reyes from Bagong Silang, Caloocan. Both of them were 13-years-old.

They were identified by their relatives.

Jean Alceso, the mother of one of the victims was distraught. She initially did not want to see the body, hoping that her child could still be alive.

“I was not claiming him as mine, I did not want to because I was hoping that he was still safe, because one of the kids has not been found yet," she said in Filipino.

Alceso said they had just come from a family vacation in Tacloban. Her son was invited by his classmate, but she was not aware that they were going to the river.

“Wala nagsabi na tumaas ang lebel ng tubig, na wala man lang nagsaway,” Alceso said.

(No one said that the level of the water had risen, no one was scolding them.)

However, Santos said that there were already watchmen in the area, but the river was very long.

One of the four boys is still missing as of posting. — Jean Mangaluz/BAP, GMA News