‘We finally got him’

Philippine Coast Guard divers and workers from Manila Water Co. Inc. finally recovered yesterday the corpse of a man who drowned after falling into a water concessionaire’s water supply system three weeks ago.

The decomposing remains of 19-year-old Randy Diaz were successfully retrieved from Manila Water’s pipeline at the corner of Sgt. Catolo and Monte de Piedad streets in Cubao, some two kilometers from Barangay Quirino in Project 2, where the victim fell into an aqueduct.

"After three weeks, the Coast Guard recovered the body upstream from a main line where he drowned," Manila Water corporate communications director Joel Lacsamana said. "We can now heave a sigh of relief because finally we got him."

The accident had forced Manila Water, which services the eastern portion of Metro Manila, including Quezon City and Makati, to shut off a major section of water service for fear the corpse would contaminate drinking water.

His body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, Lacsamana said, but stressed the pipe from where it was retrieved was swiftly taken from MWCI’s operations shortly after the freak accident.

"We want to assure the public that the drinking water remains safe, even as we continue tests with the help of health officials," he said. "It’s a good day because our extensive efforts for the past three weeks in searching for the body finally yielded results. It’s all over now and our operations can get back to normal."

Investigators were surprised the body parts were still "very much intact" although it was already in the state of decomposition. Only a few strands of hair remained attached to the body, police said.

"The cadaver was naturally quite bloated, but most of the parts were still in place," said Lieutenant Edgardo Hernando, chief of the Philippine Coast Guard’s Special Operations Group.

According to Hernando, frogmen opened a manhole in Catolo street and moved upwards inside the pipeline before spotting the cadaver about 140 meters away at around 4 p.m.

Shortly before that time, pieces of flesh also believed to be a part of Diaz’s scalp was also found inside the primary aqueduct line along E. Rodriguez Avenue corner Monte de Piedad.

A certain Modesto Oreta, 45, a mason of JH Patawaran Construction, was a member of the team de-watering a part of the said line when he spotted a piece of flesh floating inside at about 12:30 p.m.

Coast Guard frogmen, who were ready to dive inside the line, then found several other pieces of skin and some strands of hair, indicating that Diaz’s body was nearby.

Follow-up operations eventually yielded success as they found the cadaver, which was immediately brought to the Philippine National Police crime laboratory for tests.

Diaz drowned three weeks ago when he accidentally fell into a Manila Water ventilation chamber at the backyard of a relative’s house located on Bignay street in Barangay Quirino. Part of the compound was once owned by Manila Water.

The body was then washed away inside the 3.4-kilometer main pipeline before getting stuck.

The incident caused numerous water interruptions in Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, and Makati, when parts of the main pipeline was isolated and dewatered. – With Perseus Echeminana, AFP