Bontoc residents light bonfires along riverbanks to aid search for missing boy

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(2nd UPDATE) Juneil Crey Liwaliw Bagwan was swept away by the strong river current in Sabangan, Mountain Province, on October 31. His lifeless body is retrieved late Saturday morning, November 2.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – On the morning of Thursday, October 31, in Sabangan, Mountain Province, a 14-year-old boy was trying to reach their piggery across the banks of Bayudan River, a tributary of the Chico River, in Supang village.

Unfortunately, Juneil Crey Liwaliw Bagwan was swept by the strong current.

Search and rescue teams were mobilized but he was not found that day. And as Halloween approached, a consoling gesture was made by the residents of the neighboring town of Bontoc.

Several bonfires were lit along the banks of the Chico River by residents of the capital town.

As “Hail, Mountain Province” wrote on Facebook: “Alongside the fire’s primary role as a source of light, they were there as beacons of hope so that anyone who saw them would know that help was at hand.”
It also said that it is believed that fire will give comfort and warmth to the missing.

Rescue efforts continued the next couple of days, with augmentation by Bontoc rescuers. Bagwan’s lifeless body was found along the Amlosong-Hydro Area, at around 10:30 am on Saturday, November 1, as confirmed by the Bontoc Municipal Police Station and Chakchakan Community Volunteers.

There was a municipal cleansing at the ato (indigenous meeting circle) in Sabangan for the retrievers deployed by the Bontoc Emergency Operations Center.

The Bontoc municipal government said in a Facebook post that this ritual  “is performed every after an incident to appease the unseen and the living before going home.”

“Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong Jr., who chairs the MDRRMC, expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and emphasized the importance of community solidarity during such challenging times. Likewise, he thanked all the responders and community volunteers,” the LGU said.

Last week, 60-year-old Francis Angel who goes by the Igorot name of Lacaben drowned also in Sabangan. His body was recovered in Bontoc.  – Rappler.com

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