Boy, 12, drowns in canal

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines — The body of a 12-year-old boy who drowned last week in an irrigation canal in Barangay M.S. Garcia in this city was recovered on Sunday.

Richard Gomez Jr., 12, was last seen leaving their house on Wednesday to go for a swim in the canal, according to Col. Richard Caballero, acting chief of the Nueva Ecija police.

Gomez failed to return home, prompting his parents to seek the help of barangay officials, who failed to immediately find him. The victim’s decomposing body was found by his brother in the canal three days after he was reported missing.