‘Bebeng’ dumps heavy rains on Metro

MANILA, Philippines—A woman was killed while eight more people were hurt in an accident partly blamed on a road made slippery by a heavy downpour spawned by tropical storm “Bebeng” at around 1 a.m. Sunday.

The fatality was identified as Vanessa Tuazon, 25, a resident of Paco, Manila.

Chief Inspector Reynaldo Medina Jr. of the Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Sector 1 said Tuazon died as she was being taken to the Capitol Medical Center.

The accident happened on the westbound lane of Quezon Avenue in front of the Metrobank branch in Barangay (village) West Triangle. It involved a Mitsubishi Pajero (ZNN 196) and two Toyota Fortuners (ZLR 129 and ZEM 663).

The police said the injured were also taken to the same hospital for treatment. They were identified as Alfredo Lim, the driver of one of the Fortuners (ZEM 663); Shirly Tolentino, 52; Jennifer Tolentino, 34; Rosette Tolentino, 21; Mary Rose Tolentino, 17; Jenny Rose Buenviaje, 16; Adrian Bautista, 14; and Jaisell Ryan Buenbiaje, 2, all of Marikina City.

The Tolentinos and Buenviajes were passengers of the other Fortuner (ZLR 129) with Eduardo Tolentino, 56, behind the wheel.

According to the police, the accident took place at the height of a heavy downpour, making the road slippery and harder for drivers to maneuver their vehicles.

Medina said all three vehicles were on the westbound lane of Quezon Avenue when the collision happened at a U-turn slot.

All of a sudden, Lim hit the rear of the other Fortuner being driven by Eduardo. The impact threw Tuazon, who was seated in the front passenger seat beside Lim, out of the vehicle. She hit the pavement where rescuers later found her.

Eduardo’s Fortuner, on the other hand, spun around several times and hit the back of a Pajero.

Medina said they had yet to talk to Lim about the accident as he remains confined at the hospital for his injuries.

According to the flood watch unit of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), at least 23 major Metro roads were flooded at the height of a heavy downpour due to Bebeng on Sunday afternoon.

Four of these became impassable to light vehicles—C-5 Road near Eagle Street and Ortigas Avenue; Marcos Highway near De la Paz Street in Pasig City; both directions of Quezon Avenue near Biak na Bato; and the southbound lane of the Katipunan Flyover exit near C-5 Road in Quezon City.

Metrobase officer in charge Ching Salinas, however, said the floods had subsided as of Monday morning.

“We sent pumping equipment to some areas to facilitate the drainage but most areas only needed a few hours for floodwater to naturally [subside],” she added.

Flooded areas

Flooding was also reported in the following areas: on the Tandang Sora flyover leading to Commonwealth Avenue’s eastbound direction in Quezon City; parts of Dr. A. Santos Avenue from San Antonio Valley 2 to SM Sucat and roads near the Philippine Air Transport and Training Services compound and Fourth Estate Subdivision in Parañaque City; both directions of Edsa-Orense and Edsa-Estrella streets in Makati City; East Avenue near the Land Transportation Office in Quezon City; the southbound lane of C-5 Road to Kalayaan in Makati City; both directions of P. Tuazon Road in Quezon City; northbound lane of Edsa near MRT Santolan; both directions of Edsa-Shaw, Edsa-Orense, Edsa-Kamias and Edsa-Taft Rotonda; and West Service Road in the direction of Merville in Parañaque City.

The strong winds brought by Bebeng also sent some advertising companies scrambling to take down their billboards on major thoroughfares, including Edsa.

Although no billboards were destroyed by the storm’s 85-kph winds, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said this only strengthened his resolve to tear down advertisements that do not comply with the law.

“The national building code states that billboards should be able to withstand winds up to 245 kph. [Typhoon] Bebeng is only 85 kph but some advertisements already gave in and were torn down,” he stated.

In Muntinlupa City, heavy rains on Sunday afternoon triggered a mudslide at a vacant government-owned lot inside the New Bilibid Prisons compound.

No casualties were recorded when the incessant rains loosened the soil at Phase 4 of the lot owned by the National Housing Authority at around 6 p.m., according to city public information officer Omar Acosta.

On the other hand, brownouts were reported in some areas in the cities of Navotas, Caloocan, Manila and Quezon City.—With Miko Morelos and Kristine Felisse Mangunay