A public school teacher was killed while 19 others were injured, many of them in serious condition, when the passenger forward-type truck carrying them fell into a ravine in North Cotabato province in southern Philippines on Monday. The vehicle was on its way to Barangay Linao in Matalam town in North Cotabato and was cruising along a highway in President Roxas when the accident happened at 3:45 p.m., police said. Senior Inspector Nestor Cachuela, chief of President Roxas police, identified the passenger who perished as Teresita Algar, 60, teacher in Linao Elementary School. She reportedly died on the spot. Those who were injured were identified as:
Quennie Hazel Almendral, 20; Nena Vasquez, 57; Lenny Paragas Gabao, 23; Gloria Nombrado-Macaventa, 43; Lea Maganzo Aca-ay, 53; Margarita Cabayao Alagdan, 61; Consorcia Almendral, 57; Nelia Nombrado, 45; Antonio Buton, 58; Elsa Mendoza Amaro, 46; Flora Mae Valenzuela, 24; Rosalie delos Santos, 37; Edna Bacus, 47; Sonia Quema, 49; Rosita Tauro, 28; Teodola Tesoro, 74; Billy Delos Santos, 8; Debbie delos Santos, 5; and Nizza Rose Mendoza Amaro, 10 The truck was fully-loaded with agricultural products and passengers, according to Macaventa, one of the injured. “We heard a loud explosion and then later we saw the truck turned turtle for five times until we reached the bottom of the cliff," said Macaventa. The driver, identified as Antonio Buton, denied that his machine malfunctioned. In an interview, he said the road was very slippery after it rained for hours. “Since I was carrying a heavy load, I failed to manage to reach the top of Barangay Greenhills in President Roxas town, identified as one of the killer curves along the President Roxas-Antipas-Arakan road in North Cotabato," Buton said. The owner of the passenger vehicle, according to Cachuela, is willing to shoulder the expenses of the injured passengers. Of the 19 injured, 15 were brought to the Kidapawan Medical Specialist Center in Kidapawan City, while the rest were being treated at the New Cebu District Hospital in President Roxas town. - KBK, GMA News 
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