BY: FERLIZA C. CONTRATISTA
CEBU CITY, May 7 (PIA) --- Resorts and hotels in the region will be randomly inspected for their compliance to water safety requirements.
Commander Neil Azcuna of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Central Visayas said that effective May 17, they will start enforcing a Memorandum Circular calling for the inspection of resorts and hotels if they have set up the necessary water safety measures.
Water safety includes the presence of trained life guards and life savers in the vicinity of pools and beaches and if they have the necessary life saving equipment.
"We will also check if their life guards are trained, and who trained them," said Azcuna during today's Kapihan sa PIA.
Lt. James Reyes of the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) said that along with the PCG, they conduct life saving trainings for free to groups of at least 20 people.
Reyes said proper training is needed considering that there are several misconceptions when it comes to saving the life of a drowning person.
“Once, I was called to rescue a drowning person and the victim's relative wants me to jump immediately into the water. But I asked them to wait until the victim has only about 30 percent strength and that is the time I jumped into the water, because the drowning person was taller and bigger than me,” Reyes said.
He said that the lifesaver should not underestimate the capacity of the drowning victim, or else both of them may die.
These are some of the things that the public needs to know and can only be learned through training from the right authorities.
Hotels and resorts must have properly trained lifesavers and they will be given ample time to comply.
Compliance is a must here in Cebu specially that most are coastal communities frequented by domestic and international tourists .
During the forum, non-profit life saving organization, Philippine Life Saving (PLS), was represented by its Secretary General Larry Alag who disclosed that there are about 3,000 Filipinos, mostly 14 years old and below, who die due to drowning every year.
“It is the aim of PLS to have at least one lifesaver per family or household to reduce the number of deaths from drowning,” Alag said.
PLS had so far trained 2,000 Filipinos since the beginning of the organization in 2006, and about 300 here in Cebu particularly in Santa Fe, Bantayan Island.
“There is a need to professionalize lifeguarding or lifesaving as a profession, we can even have our nurses trained as lifesavers,” Alag said.
PLS also aims to put the country on the map of lifesaving worldwide by sending in an official contingent in the international competition in France this year.
Cebu, he said, is the host of the national competition "The Great Titan" next week in Santa Fe Bantayan where 20 teams nationwide will compete.
Here in Cebu so far, the municipality of Santa Fe, being one of the summer getaways in Cebu, has adapted the PLS trainings through the efforts of Mayor Jose Esgana. (rmn/FCC/PIA-Cebu)