1 killed, 16 hurt as bus rams into house in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines - A man was killed while 16 others were hurt after yet another passenger bus figured in a road accident, this time in Cavite province, south of Manila. However, unlike in recent bus accidents, the fatality was not a passenger but rather a resident of one of the three houses that the Jethro Liner bus rammed into. A radio report identified the victim as June Magtawas, 78, who was deep in his sleep inside his home before the road incident happened in Marulas village in Kawit town early Thursday morning. The 16 injured people – which included the bus passengers and the bus driver - were initially identified as: Bus driver Ariel Guadalupe; Leonisa de Leon, 43; Christina Biazon, 32; Christopher dela Peña, 27; Danilo Moscera, 47; Kenneth Olverio, 25; Jaime Castillo, 16; Jeffrey Ubaldo, 24; Jomer Punongbayan, 26; Isagani Patul, 22; Leah Demetria, 37; Emmanuel Espiritu, 26; Nicanor Francisco, 57; Jeffrey Rodoro; Enrico Palwis; and Leilani Pascua, whose ages were not immediately known. The passengers, who the police were able to speak with at the hospital, said the Jethro bus (DXR-121) they were onboard was traveling at high speed as the driver was trying to race with another bus. However, the Jethro bus driver allegedly lost control of the passenger vehicle and veered off the road and into a group of houses some 30 feet below. The victim's wife, Erlinda, said she and her husband were jolted out of their sleep when they heard a loud bang and were rattled when the bus slammed into their room. The wounded elderly was rushed to Divine Mercy General Hospital in General Trias town but doctors failed to revive him. He expired at about 8 a.m. The report quoted the wounded victims as pleading for assistance from the owner of the bus. Police authorities said they are already readying charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple physical injuries and damage to property against the bus driver. The incident came on the heels of three similar bus accidents in Metro Manila and Pampanga province, where a total of six people died and at least 70 others were hurt. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV