Maguindanao town councilor, escort die in car crash in Cotabato province

Mlang Engineering Office personnel extricate the Toyota Hi-Lux that figured in the car crash along the highway in Mlang town, Cotabato province around 6:30 a.m., Monday, April 18, 2022. Aboard the vehicle, a municipal councilor of Datu Piang in Maguindanao province and his escort died on the spot. WILLIAMOR A. MAGBANUA

MLANG, Cotabato — A councilor of Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province and his escort died instantly when the vehicle they were riding collided with another vehicle along the national highway in this town early Monday morning, police said.

Lt. Colonel Realan Mamon, the chief of police in Mlang, Cotabato province, said Musa Bago, municipal councilor and resident of Datu Piang, Maguindanao, and Dong Bago, his escort, died instantly inside their Toyota Hilux pickup, moments after the collision which occurred 6:30 a.m. in Purok 5, Barangay Langkong.

Five other passengers of the vehicle also sustained bruises and other injuries and were rushed to the Mlang District Hospital in Barangay Poblacion.

Mamon said three other vehicles were involved in the crash; namely, a Honda Brio driven by Nataniel Niar Narciso, an employee of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTr) region 12; a Ford Ranger driven by Eslaiding Pinto, an employee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and another Toyota Hilux driven by Resurreccion Pueyo, Director of the Civil Service Commission in Region 12.

Both Toyota Hilux were traveling from Poblacion Mlang to Tulunan, Cotabato, when the Hilux, where the municipal councilor was on board, collided with the left portion of the Honda Brio, causing the Brio to swerve and collide with an approaching Ford Ranger.

The Honda Brio also hit the second Toyota Hilux driven by the regional director of the Civil Service Commission Regional Office 12.

Both the drivers of the Honda Brio and the second Toyota Hilux sustained injuries and were rushed to the nearby Mlang District Hospital.

It took at least five hours for personnel of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) and the Mlang town engineers office to retrieve the body of the town councilor and his escort.

Relatives fetched them and brought them back to Datu Piang town for Islamic burial.

The vehicles involved were brought to the Mlang police office for custody, pending the filing of appropriate charges in court.

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