BACOLOD City – With people expected to take excursions at beaches and pools during the Holy Week, the local government is wary of drowning incidents.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) will inspect beaches and private resorts for their compliance with City Ordinance (CO) No. 749, series of 2015.
The ordinance requires “all swimming pools, resort owners and similar businesses to have a duly certified lifeguard.”
Trained lifeguards are tasked to prevent untoward incidents – most especially drowning – at bodies of water, according to CDRRMO officer-in-charge Dondon Parandas.
Parandas claimed that only a few resorts in the city have lifeguards but did not provide figures.
One of the popular excursion destinations during the Holy Week, especially on Easter Sunday, is the beach in Barangay Punta-Taytay.
Parandas said the CDRRMO will deploy rescue groups in areas where there are no lifeguards.
It will also work with groups that can immediately contact its emergency hotline if there is any drowning incident, he added.
Under CO No. 749, the CDRRMO is tasked to ensure establishment compliance with the lifeguard requirement.
A resort found to have no lifeguard will be given time to comply, said Parandas.
Moreover, the Philippine Coast Guard is the government agency authorized to train lifeguards, he said.
Parandas disclosed that the Coast Guard in fact plans to conduct lifeguard training among resorts in the city./PN
