CEBU CITY (Updated) -- A jeepney operator was killed when an acacia tree fell on his vehicle Wednesday afternoon near a public elementary school in Barangay Zapatera, Cebu City.
Clenio Bontuyan, 63, wasn't even supposed to be on the road, but decided to take over when his driver took the day off.
Bontuyan, a resident of Barangay Talamban, picked up six passengers bound for Colon around 2:30 p.m. Fourteen minutes later, he stopped just in front of the Zapatera Elementary School along Sikatuna St., where the traffic was heavy.
As the traffic light turned red, he stopped next to an acacia tree.
Witnesses heard one of the passengers yell, "Ang kahoy katumbahon (That tree is falling)!" They saw some of the passengers scamper away from the vehicle, which got pinned, mere seconds later, by the huge tree.
A passenger, interviewed over the radio, said it took time for Bontuyan to leave his jeepney because he had to release his seatbelt and tried to gather his earnings from the dashboard.
Heavy rains in recent days apparently loosened the old tree's roots. In Mandaue City, strong winds ripped apart a small house and damaged another home in a hillside barangay last Tuesday evening.
Residents of Sitio Sector 6 in Barangay Pagsabungan believe it was a twister that destroyed the house of Lenefren Misal, 32.
But weather experts said it wasn't a twister, just some powerful gusts dragged by heavy rain clouds.
In the Zapatera accident, it took rescuers almost two hours to remove the jeepney operator's body as it was trapped in the driver's seat.
Cigarettes
Cigarette vendor Willy Bacus, 50, said that minutes before the accident, the driver bought two cigarette sticks from him.
When rescuers finally removed Bontuyan's body from the crushed vehicle at 4 p.m., they noticed he was still holding a P50 bill, folded and pressed between his fingers.
Different units rushed to the scene, including the Cebu City Fire Department, Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, Citom, Cebu City Police and Zapatera barangay officials.
Cranes, chainsaws and a boom truck were used to get Bontuyan's body and remove the gigantic tree that blocked the entire street.
One of Bontuyan's passengers, Nallie Rilazan, 59, said a fallen branch attracted her attention, and she saw the rest of the tree beginning to fall as she looked out the window.
She said she warned Bontuyan not to drive through, but he didn't hear her.
"Inanay man gud iyang pagkatumba (That acacia fell slowly)," she said.
Electrical wirings were also affected as one of the transformers exploded, cutting off power supply to the immediate vicinity.
Removal
After an initial investigation by the traffic division, they recommended that the old acacia tree be uprooted, since its roots were badly infected by termites. The soil around the tree had loosened after recent rains.
Bontuyan's passengers suffered minor bruises and no other vehicle was damaged.
Mayor Michael Rama said he will talk with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture on what can be done about old trees standing near the roads.
"I will see to it that this will be remedied, but first we have to talk with the concerned agencies," he said.
In Mandaue City, strong winds were blamed for destroying one house and damaging another last Tuesday night in Barangay Pagsabungan.
Misal, the homeowner, said in an interview Wednesday that one of his three children saw the twister.
Dave Clint Misal, 9, said that around 8 p.m. last Tuesday, he was bringing a plate of rice to their hut for dinner, when strong winds and rain suddenly rocked their house, eventually ripping the roof out.
Dave said that heavy rain began just before he went to their house, which was just two meters away from his grandmother's house.
Gust
The child said he saw the trees near their house suddenly collapse. Fearful for his life, he ran toward his grandmother's house and told the adults what happened.
"Mura man tog gisuyop ang among balay sa hangin (It was as if the wind sucked up our house)," Dave said.
Aside from the Misals' hut, part of the roof of Alvin Managaytay's house was ripped by the gust.
Managaytay's house is about three meters away from the Misals' hut. Four large ipil-ipil trees gave away.
Barangay Pagsabungan captain Andres Suson, in a separate interview Wednesday, said he plans to convene his council to discuss what they could do to help the affected residents.
An official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said what occurred last Tuesday was not a twister.
Vangie Tolentino, Pagasa Mactan weather forecaster, said it was just a gust. Such occurrences are caused by the formation of cumulonimbus clouds, which acts like a giant vacuum, Tolentino said.
Post
Also on Wednesday, vehicles were stuck in heavy traffic for almost an hour after a concrete post got knocked down across P.del Rosario St., Cebu City at 8:50 a.m.
The post fell after a passing prime mover truck accidentally caught a wire connected to the post and dragged it.
SPO4 Ronelo Ermac, traffic investigator, said the driver had no idea the container vans on the trailer were high enough to get snagged in the wire.
The post fell down on the hood of a taxi driven by Gary Almencion, 39.
Motorcycle rider Ligaya Araneta, 39, sustained minor bruises after being hit by the wire.
It took more than an hour for the post to be removed. This caused bumper-to-bumper traffic on P. del Rosario St., N. Bacalso Ave., Osmeña Blvd., Imus St., Panganiban St. and V. Rama Ave.
Vehicles had to be diverted, said Ermac.
The telephone company, the Visayan Electric Company Inc. and the Cebu Traffic Division worked together in removing the post around 10 a.m. (Sun.Star Cebu)
