Gullas kin, Korean classmate drown in Bataan

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – The bodies of the 13-year-old grandson of a former Cebu lawmaker and his Korean classmate were recovered after they reportedly drowned in Morong, Bataan on Wednesday.

Jose Llarves of the law enforcement department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) identified one of the victims as Kyle Gullas Weckman, grandson of former Cebu City Rep. Jose “Dodong” Gullas.

The Korean was identified as Jaebak Jung.

Llarves said the two were among the 47 delegates, including five teachers, from Cebu International School that participated in a community service project at the Kanawan Elementary School in Morong, Bataan.

After the service project, the group proceeded to Visai Waterfalls in Sitio Kanawan, Barangay Binaritan for a swim, which was among the activities included in their program.

Jung and Weckman went missing while swimming at the waterfalls, police said.

Llarves said the victims were believed to have been swept away by strong currents in the river and drowned.

The Bataan provincial police said Jung was found within minutes, but he was no longer breathing and was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital.

SBMA rescuers, on the other hand, recovered Weckman’s body only yesterday morning.

A senior staff of Cebu City Rep. Eduardo Gullas, elder brother of Dodong, said Weckman was the only child of Dodong’s daughter Jackie Gullas-Weckman.

“The boy’s father is American and he was an American citizen born in the US,” the staff, who asked not to be named for lack of authorization to speak on behalf of the family, said.

Jackie is an official of the University of the Visayas owned by the Gullas family.

Confusion initially arose on the location of the accident, amid reports that the field trip’s destination was Pampanga, prompting authorities to investigate incidents in a resort in Kalayaan Village whose name sounds like that of the falls in Bataan.

Tourism officials also checked records of trekkers to Mt. Pinatubo but no accident was reported. – Cecille Suerte Felipe