Body of missing Bontoc road mishap victim finally found and retrieved

Bontoc, Mt. Province — The last victim of the tragic road mishap in Bontoc, Mt. Province, on Monday, October 27, was finally found but lifeless after three days of search and rescue operations.

It can be recalled that the truck ferrying five occupants fell into a deep ravine and into the Chico River.

According to police reports, the victims were all construction workers aboard an Elf truck bound for a construction site in Sadanga when the vehicle reportedly hit two parked cars along the Bontoc–Tabuk–Enrile Road before plunging about 170 meters down into the Chico River in Barangay Tocucan.

Upon being notified of the incident, rescuers promptly responded and first retrieved the bodies of three of the five occupants. The three, identified by police as Rogelio Dela Cruz and Jessie Galicia, both from Pangasinan, and Zoren Jay Tala from Zamboanga (the driver), were declared dead on the spot.

On the second day of the search operations, October 28, the fourth victim was also found lifeless in the river, about two meters away from the submerged truck. He was identified as Carlo Ancheta, also from Pangasinan.

Meanwhile, the body of the fifth victim, identified as Edmond Romeo, likewise from Pangasinan, was recovered on Wednesday, October 29.

In a Facebook post, the Bontoc Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) thanked all those involved in the successful retrieval of the victims’ remains and expressed its condolences to the grieving families.

“We also pray for the eternal repose of the souls of the five young individuals—Rogelio, JC, Zoren Jay, Carlo, and Edmond—whose lives were tragically lost in the vehicular accident on the morning of October 27, 2025, in Gawa, Barangay Tocucan, Bontoc, Mountain Province. May God comfort their bereaved families, granting them strength, peace, and solace in this difficult time,” the agency wrote.