Townsfolk hail missing15-year-old as a hero

MINALIN, Pampanga — Fifteen-year-old Jason Bungay has been missing since last Monday after strong current swept him away as he, along with other volunteers, helped put sandbags on an eroding dike on the bank of the San Francisco River here at the height of the heavy monsoon rains.

His parents, Francisco and Imelda Bungay, however, still hope that Jason, the third of their seven children, would still turn up alive.

This early, however, residents are hailing Jason as a hero. The repair of the earth dike was vital in saving scores of houses in Barangay San Francisco from being washed away by the river’s strong current.

"(Jason) has been missing since last Monday, but we would not like to dampen the hopes of Jason’s parents. I have asked people to search for him. He is a rare hero who was willing to give up his life for the sake of others," said Rep. Rimpy Bondoc, who has been braving heavy flooding to visit remote barangays in the province’s low-lying fourth district.

"(Jason) asked permission to help volunteers in sandbagging the dike. He said that unless the dike was fortified, the strong current would reach our homes," recalled his father, whose small farm remains submerged. The Bungays live in a nipa hut not far away from the river.

Jason gave up schooling to take on assorted jobs to help his parents send his other siblings to school. "He had always insisted on finding employment of all kinds. He said that he would go back to school only after he had helped his brothers and sisters," his mother said.

Minalin Mayor Edgar Flores, however, said rescue teams have lost hope in finding Jason. He has mobilized volunteers of the municipal disaster coordinating council for the search, particularly in the downstream portions of the San Francisco River.

"Ordinary people become heroes for rare acts of courage for the welfare of others. That was what Jason did," Bondoc said.— Ding Cervantes