Sink or swim

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The past two weeks had been very eventful. There was the shock of the death of Pope Francis. Although I’d like to write about the pope, everyone seemed to have written about him that there isn’t anything new I can say about him that I haven’t read in newspapers, social media, chat groups etc.

Suffice to say Pope Francis was much beloved almost universally, Catholics and otherwise. What caught my eye was the report of seven persons dying from drownings, which seems to be a perennial event during Holy Week, year after year. While some were intoxicated which figured significantly in the causation of death, others drowned because they didn’t know how to swim.



In fact, a large number of Filipinos will admit to not knowing how to swim, yet they will indulge in “swimming” during outings and vacations. And so, there will be drownings every now and then in the news. Now, we live in an archipelago surrounded by seas, other than the rivers, lakes and man-made bodies of water such as esteros and dams.

The odds are we will frequently encounter bodies of water everywhere we go in this country. That is fine because we derive our main source of protein from the seas, aside from other blessings of nature. But you’d think our people would be well-acquainted with water other than something to drink.

We regularly cross bodies of water either via bridges or boats of all sizes, and sooner or later, we will get into mishaps that throw us into the water, so if you don’t know how to swim, there’s a danger that the lifegiving bodies of water will claim your life. Folks who live in rural areas probably got their life skills including swimming early in life. Living in highly urbanized areas seems to be a factor in not knowing how to swim.

I was no exception. It was a good thing that as a first-year student in UP Diliman, I had to pass my first PE class, which was swimming. Everyone had to pass swimming class or you don’t get to graduate.

It was a traumatic experience as I was afraid of inhaling the water. I wasn’t the athletic type so my coordination was not good. I ended up getting an ear infection that was serious enough for me to consider dropping out of college.

But somehow, I managed to muster enough courage to continue with swimming lessons and I did pass PE I with a barely passing grade of 3. But thanks to that experience, I can now swim confidently, though now, with my dry eyes, I can’t stand the chlorine in swimming pool water. But that’s another story.

What I’m driving at it is that we ought to be a nation of swimmers, and master a skill that can save us from the perils of water. Yet, unlike other countries, our cities and towns don’t have swimming pools where swimming classes can be held. Our LGUs need to seriously consider constructing swimming pool facilities in every town and city.

It may involve an initially high expenditure, but the benefits will certainly justify the costs. One life saved is more than enough to justify it, but I guess in this country where life is cheap, that may not count for much. There will surely be more than a few lives saved if many more people learn to swim.

Other than swimming classes, we should also have courses in lifeguard training. I hardly see lifeguards even in five-star hotel swimming pools. This is a shortage that needs to be remedied.

We have a lot of seaside resorts as well where we don’t have lifeguards as well. In February 2020, House Bill 5523 (Lifeguard Act) was passed by Congress. It required hotels and resorts with swimming pools and resorts to have a lifeguard on duty for every 250 square meters of swimming area during all hours of operation.

There are penalties and imprisonments prescribed for violation of the law. It looks like that bill languished in Congress as a Senate bill (Lifeguard Act of 2022) was later filed, with its author renewing the call to pass this bill two weeks ago. This law really needs to be passed now, and with the proper implementing rules and regulations.

Tasking the DOH to certify lifeguards isn’t in its competency. I seriously doubt if many in the DOH can even swim, much less conduct courses in lifeguard training. While our lawmakers are at it, they might as well consider legislating the construction of swimming pools for swimming classes in order to save more lives.

Not only will the swimming pools be lifesaving, they may pave the way for world-class swimmers who can bring the country Olympic glory. How’s that for a side benefit?.