QUEZON, Philippines — A 30-year-old Department of Environment and Natural Resources officer was found dead after drowning in the river in General Nakar town Saturday morning, officials said.
After three days of continued search and rescue operations, the body of Forest Monitoring Officer Rigor Santos was found around 11 a.m.
According to DENR, Santos and three laborers from the Regional National Greening Program Validation Team had been conducting survey and mapping activities at the proposed e-NGP site in Barangay Mahabang Lalim in General Nakar on October 28.
The group was traversing the Kanan River when Santos was swept away by the current.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Infanta launched a search and rescue operation while the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Committees of nearby barangays were alerted to keep a lookout for him.
A Quick Response Team from the environment and natural resources office of Real, Quezon was also dispatched to the the area and Indigenous Peoples' communities along the Agos River also launched their own search and rescue operations.
Four motorboats searched the Agos River for Santos while an aerial search was also done.
Santos' body was found by Forest Protection Officer Ruben Bornolla, Forest Ranger Windel Adornado, and FPO Ronnie Odi in the water around two kilometers from Pagsanghan Bridge.
Rigor Santos was from Tanay, Rizal and a graduate of Bachelor of Agricultural Technology from the University of Rizal System. He was a Forest Monitoring Officer assigned at the Regional National Greening Program Coordinating Office of the regional DENR office.
He served the department for almost eight years.