INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—The death by drowning of a 14-year-old high school student while swimming at the Amoranto Sports Complex last month was due to negligence, not foul play, an officer who investigated the incident said Wednesday.

A report submitted Wednesday by SP01 Neil Garnace of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation Unit said the management of the sports complex failed to provide immediate assistance to Paul Raymond Macabagdal.

Macabagdal, a resident of Barangay Bahay Toro and a second-year student at Ismael Mathay High School, went swimming at the sports complex with two classmates early in the afternoon on Oct. 27.

"There was no foul play, but management of the sports complex could be liable for negligence if the statements of the [boy’s companions] are correct,'' Supt. Lino Banaag of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit said.

Garnace said the name of the victim and his two classmates appeared on the pool users’ log book, showing that their use of the pool was legitimate and authorized.

"Considering the victim and his classmates were all minors, close supervision of a lifeguard or pool manager was required,'' Garnace added.

Garnace said his report was based solely on the statements given by the two classmates of the victim who were with him at the time.

The report showed the students were at the deep end of the pool—six feet—when the victim began to drown.

"He shouted for help, but no one immediately came including the lifeguard on duty until the victim drowned, '' Garnace said in his report.

The report said that the lifeguard, identified as Sofronio Latras, pulled out the boy from the pool and tried to resuscitate him but failed. Latras then took the boy to the Capitol Medical Center, where he was declared dead upon arrival.