A seven-year-old girl and her five-year-old sister drowned in an irrigation canal near their home in Barangay Naguiddayan, Bantay, Ilocos Sur. 

The seven-year-old child was found in the part of the canal in the neighboring Barangay Bulag East while the younger one was found 30 minutes later in Barangay Malingeb. 

According to their mother's account to the police, she put her six children to sleep before heading to the neighbor's house. She would learn of the unfortunate incident later. 

”Nalaman lang ng misis ko noong may nakapagsabi na may nalunod sa irigasyon. Doon [na] niya hinanap ang mga anak namin,” Federico Pido, the father of the victims, said.

The irrigation canal is deep and has a strong current.

Pido said that his cousin saw his children and tried to tell them to go home before the incident.

“Nakita ng pinsan ko kaya pinaakyat niya sila, pero nagtago daw ‘yung mga bata at bumalik sa irigasyon. Naglalaro daw sila pero baka balak nilang maligo dahil wala silang suot,” he said.

Pido was working in the fields at the time of the incident.

They will make the coffins for their children themselves because they couldn’t afford to buy them.

“Masakit pero kailangang tanggapin… Hindi na naming pwedeng iwan ang mga bata; kailangang mabantayan,” Pido said.

PLT. Reynaldo Reynon, Deputy Chief of Bantay Police Station, advised parents living near irrigation canals to watch over their young children playing nearby to prevent similar accidents.

“Payo ko sa mga magulang na nakatira malapit sa mga irigasyon, na bantayan ang mga maliliit na anak na naglalaro malapit sa irigasyon, dahil hindi natin alam ang disgrasya,” Reynon said.