Solon, 2 others hurt in Pangasinan road accident

A lawmaker, his daughter and driver were injured after a passenger bus hit their van in Bugallon town in Pangasinan before dawn Thursday. Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil and his daughter Angela were injured while their driver, identified only as PO3 Valencia, were brought to a hospital in Dagupan City. They were inside Bataoil's van at the time of the accident. The incident occurred in Poblacion village in Bugallon town at 1 a.m., a police report said. Police arrested the driver of the Dagupan bus (DAS-578), initially identified as Benny Cainap. Cainap claimed he hit the van after he tried to avoid hitting a motorcycle along the road, according to a radio dzBB report. A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1976, Bataoil ran for Congress last year after retiring from the Philippine National Police. His last position was chief of the PNP directorate for police community relations. — RSJ, GMA News