UBAY.- What otherwise was a happy occasion Wednesday ended in tragedy when a commuter van packed with barangay officials from CPG town crashed along the highway in barangay Calanggaman killing on the spot the island’s  Liga ng mga Barangay  federation president. Ricardo Galo, the ABC president, along with his wife and several others who are barangay officials of CPG town were on board the van when it ran smack into a parked vehicle along the national highway. CPG Mayor Tesalonica Boyboy confirmed this in a text message yesterday, saying that others with Galo on board the van-for-hire are now recuperating in different hospitals in the city.  Initial police report bared that passenger vehicle was on their way to this town after they attended the Liberal party oath-taking with President Benigno Simeon Aquino III as guest of honot. The ill-fated van hit the cargo truck parked at the national highway about six kilometers before the town proper. As of late yesterday afternoon, PO2 Floyd Tinio of the Ubay police confirmed that no other fatality was reported other than the ABC president. Earlier, there were unconfirmed reports that the fatality’s wife identified as Esther Galo passed away hours later following the road crash.

The van driver identified as a certain  Bartolome Mendez, 58, was quoted as saying that it was too late for him to maneuver his van to veer away from the parked cargo truck, the police report said. The van driver failed to see the cargo truck parked ahead since it has no early warning devise or even a reflector on its rear side. The report added that the illumination of headlights of the approaching car from the opposite direction. Police initial probe bared that the truck occupied about 5.5 feet, or it almost occupied half of the two-lane national highway, since a stock pile was placed on the road shoulders.  The report said that the van driver and Ricardo Daboyan of Cebu, driver of the truck with place license number GKD-649 and owned by Janet Go, could be held liable for reckless imprudence resulting to homicide.  The truck was said to have parked along the road to load coconut seedlings from the plant nursery of nearby Philippine Coconut Authority.  The report said that among those seriously injured included Galo’s wife Ester , Vice-Mayor Nestor Abad, and municipal council members Kagawads Boiser, Narciso Baculpo, Renato Zapanta and Cecilio Olvido and Caridad Legaspi, island bookkeeper. The officials rented the van reportedly to catch up a boat to ferry them to the island town following the oath-taking activities in the city.