Boy drowns in Cotabato City river

COTABATO CITY - A 3-year-old boy drowned Monday in one of Cotabato City's tributaries in a subdivisionin Barangay Rosary Heights 11, officials said.Chairman Mustapha Esmael the mother told village officials the boy was last seen playing in sidea pedicab parked in Federville Subdivision at 8 a.m.The pedicab, known as 'sikad-sikad,'slid into the river with the child on it.

Esmael said a villager across the river saw the incident but could only yell and sought help but nobody noticed him.The mother was attending to the needs of her other child who was seek.Esmael said the village government will provide financial assistance to the victim's family.