Drowning in Bonuan

Every time somebody drowns in the waters off Bonuan Beach, I always hear people say that that beach takes lives every year, as if the sea water is a living monster that preys every so often on unsuspecting beachgoers.
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With the drowning last Saturday of four teenagers in Bonuan Beach, I heard that statement again not just from one but from many people. It suddenly dawned on me that with the frequency the statement has been repeated and told to several people, it has somehow acquired a semblance of truth that more and more people tend to believe in it now than simply ignore it.

I wondered if somebody has thought of building a database on the drowning incidents in the area and have it analyzed by experts. This is not, of course, to establish whether the beach is a monster or not, but to find out if there is a pattern that can be drawn from these incidents and come up with a scientific explanation on why the drowning happened.

Doing this will not only change people’s superstitious beliefs about the beach but it will also enable us to adopt measures to prevent drowning in the future.

For instance, if from the database we are able to pinpoint areas where these drowning incidents occurred, then we can mark the area to warn the swimmers to take the necessary precautions just like what we do in accident-prone areas of highways.

Also, by knowing the water behavior during the dates and times the incidents happened, we will be able to caution the beachgoers about it, effectively preventing them from possible death.

With the city government’s development of the Tondaligan to make it more attractive to tourists, part of it should be the deployment of trained and fully equipped lifeguards. These lifeguards will be there not just to react when somebody is drowning, but to constantly watch over beachgoers and swimmers and warn them if they are no longer within the designated swimming areas.

While this will entail additional expenses to the city government, the lifeguards’ presence will enhance the image of the Bonuan Beach as a safe area, luring more tourists to the city because of it and increasing economic activity in the process.

It may be worth the city government’s investment in the long run.

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The last time I entered the Saint Louis University campus in Baguio City was in June 1981, when I accompanied a cousin to enroll there. At that time, the campus was already impressive and imposing, standing tall to assert its superiority as the biggest university in Northern Luzon.

I was there last Friday and I found out that the campus has expanded with the addition of some buildings and the expansion of the others. I was particularly surprised to find out that the men’s dormitory, where I stayed for four years while I was a student there, has been literally annexed to the Sacred Heart Hospital beside it through an overhead walkway connecting the two buildings’ third floors.

Being one of the first residents of that dorm when it opened in 1976, seeing it being converted into a hospital made me somewhat nostalgic and sentimental and the memories of the days and nights I spent in that dorm immediately came to mind.

I had thought at first that the university administration has completely dropped the idea of running a men’s dorm. But to my surprise, it did not. It has instead built a new four-story building at Assumption Rd., just outside the hospital driveway -- a bigger dorm that can accommodate up to 250 residents, compared to the 200 residents that the old dorm housed.

I learned later that the same amenities were there – rooms roomy enough for four students, one locker and study table for each resident, a spacious bath and wash room in each floor, a mess hall and reception areas.

The house rules we dreaded are still there and they have been modified to plug loopholes and ensure that its residents achieve “academic excellence.” I remember that it was during our time when the open-door study period from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. began. This was imposed after the dorm masters discovered that many residents did not study their lessons and had failing grades at the end of the semester. During the study period, dorm masters would go from one room to another to see to it that its occupants are really studying.

To parents, this is instilling discipline and developing students to be responsible while they are away from their parents. This is also a reassurance that inside that dorm, the students are safe and secure.

QUICK QUOTE: Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you. -- Mother Teresa