TABUK CITY, Kalinga – A total of 32 individuals were injured when their jeepney overturned in Barangay Balantoy, Balbalan, Kalinga on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/11/8-hurt-as-jeepney-overturns-in-kalinga
Twenty-six were high school and senior high school students of Saint Theresita’s School of Balbalan competing in the Bodong Drum and Lyre Competition of the 30th founding anniversary of Kalinga and 6th Bodong Festival here with the theme “Rooted in Culture, United in Progress: Lumin-awa Kalinga!”
Police Col. James D. Mangili, Kalinga police chief, said some of the injured have been discharged from the hospital and two who sustained head injuries are in stable condition.
Eight of the injured were identified as Jaamerhyn Wadwadan, 31; Dawaton Gevin, 16; Bryle Kent T. Balao-as, 16; Omar L. Tangdol, 16; Jayboy S. Gunday, 18; Shea Faye D. Mangayan, 14; Gelai L. Gragasin, and Shanelle M. Magayam.
Mangili said the driver Gerald S. Baydan, 51, lost control of the jeepney while negotiating a descending and curved part of the road and overturned on the roadside.
The victims were part of a convoy of Kalinga Day participants and Balbalan local government unit personnel on their way to the event.
Police said Baydan opted to ram the vehicle on the roadside to avoid plunging into a ravine on the other side of the road. Follow-up investigation is ongoing and Baydan is under police custody and face appropriate charges.