Councilor killed, six other Bohol town execs injured in road accident

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CEBU CITY, Philippines—An ex-officio member of the municipal council of the town of President Carlos P. Garcia in Bohol died Wednesday night while six other officials were injured when the passenger van they were riding slammed into a parked 10-wheel cargo truck in Ubay town, 124 kilometers northeast of provincial capital Tagbilaran City, police said.

The police identified the fatality as Ricardo Galo Jr., president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) of President Carlos P. Garcia town.

Galo died on the spot while his wife, Ester, was in serious condition and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Tagbilaran City, Ubay Police Station desk officer Senior Police Officer 2 Diomedes Boyonas said in a telephone interview.

The other injured victims were Vice Mayor Nestor Abad, municipal councilors Narciso Baculfo, Pelagio Boiser and Cecilio Olvido; and the town’s bookkeeper Caridad Legaspe, all from President Carlos P. Garcia.

All the victims were returning home from a Liberal Party oath-taking ceremony held in Tagbilaran City late Wednesday afternoon.

Boyonas said the accident happened around 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the national highway in Purok 4, Baranggay (village) Calanggaman, some 7 km from the town center where the victims were to take a boat for President Garcia town.

According to initial investigation, the van’s driver, Bartolome Mendez,  did not see the 10-wheeler that was improperly parked on the road and did not have any lights on. The cargo truck driver, Ricardo Dabuyan, stopped the truck to buy cellphone load at a store.

It was learned that Galo and his wife were seated on the front seat.

Mendez, who sustained minor injuries, and Dabuyan were both detained at the Ubay police station pending further investigation and possible filing of charges.