TACLOBAN CITY -- The regional office of the Department of Tourism 8 salutes the bravery of Jeric Alconaba of Borongan City, Eastern Samar province who saved a drowning child while on duty as life guard at the Baybay Boulevard.

Baybay Boulevard in Borongan is a top destination among beachgoers, surfing enthusiasts, and visitors who want to learn surfing, and was the venue of Philippine Surfing Championship Tour leg in 2019 and 2022.

“Every time we hear or read about a person saving someone else’s life, our first reaction is to applause the heroic deed, admire the brave person and give a sigh of thankful relief that someone was saved from harm’s way.  This was how I reacted when I saw the post on how Borongan City surfer and life guard Jeric Alconaba saved a drowning child,” DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said.

Alconaba was the duty lifeguard at the Baybay Boulevard on March 3, Thursday, when he saw several children swimming along Zone 1.

He shared that while at the Surf Tower he noticed that one child is having hard time to swim, then he realized that the kid is already drowning.

He immediately went to help and rescue the drowning child.

Last year, Alconaba was one of the 34 surfers in the region who were selected to be part of the 4-day surfing instructor training in Guiuan town sponsored by the Department of Tourism Eastern Visayas in partnership with the Academy of Surfing Instructors (ASI). 

Prior to the training, they have undergone basic first-aid, basic water life support, and water safety rescue.  These emergency response trainings were rolled out under DOT’s Tourism Industry Skills Training Program of the Office of Industry Manpower Development, with the support of concerned Local Government Units

“As one of the DOT-trained surf instructors, we salute Jeric for being fearless and quick to action. We also feel great pride at the thought that we may have contributed to his life-saving skills through the trainings we provide our Eastern Visayas surf instructors,” Tiopes added.

Tiopes also lauded the City Government of Borongan, through its City Tourism Office, for making sure that their beaches are safe by having well-trained lifeguards stationed on a daily basis.

She said this is a best practice for beach areas frequently visited by guests and other sites offering water activities that should be followed by destination managers/tourism site operators.

Under the Philippine Coast Guard Memorandum Circular No. 03-14 dated April 16, 2014, having life guard is mandatory in all beach resorts, swimming pool, or water park to supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers and other water sport participants.

“Safety should always be a top-of-mind concern for those managing these kind of places. Putting in place safety measures and training personnel to respond to accidents and emergencies should be given utmost importance,” she said.

“This way, we can always assure both locals and guests that Eastern Visayas is visitor-ready, where guests feel secure knowing that there are people who have been trained not just to provide excellent service but also to look after their safety and wellbeing,” she added. (DOT-8)