Because the family could not afford one, a man in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur made a coffin for his seven-year-old grandson who drowned while swimming at sea with friends. 

The incident happened on May 12, 2023, a Sunday. 

Investigation showed that the child, Justine Rabor, was playing at the basketball court when his friends invited him to the sea. 

He was supposed to be the last to leave the water but when his friends returned to check on him, they found his body floating in the sea.

Rabor’s family only relies on fishing for a living so they had no money to get a coffin for the child. The grandfather, Andrino, decided he would make one himself. 
“Ang sakit kasi ako ang nag-alaga at nagpalaki sa kanya. Ako ang lagi niyang hinahanap dahil ako na ang tumayo niyang ama,” Andrino said.

He also appealed for help.

“Ipagpapasalamat ko kung matutulungan niyo kami dahil wala akong kakayahan sa buhay,” he said.

Authorities reminded beachgoers to not stay at sea alone. 

“Dapat may kasama silang pupunta doon sa dagat kung maliligo man sila para may kasama sila,” PSSG Geoffrey Laureta, an investigator from Cabugao Police Station, said.