Benguet town to offer ritual after chopper crash

KABAYAN, Philippines – A black pig and traditional tapuey (rice wine) will be offered in the name of the passengers and crew of the Bell 412 helicopter that crashed into the jungles of this highland town in the northern Philippines. Kabayan Mayor Faustino Aquisan said a ritual will be performed on May 2 “so that there will be no more accidents." The presidential chopper was flying from Baguio City to Banaue in nearby Ifugao province on the afternoon of April 7 when it crashed between the border of Kabayan town in Benguet and Tinoc town in Ifugao. Killed in the crash were two undersecretaries, a brigadier general, the pilot and co-pilot and three others. The team was an advance party of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whowas to visit Banaue on April 8. Chopper debris was found in Barangay Tawangan in Kabayan, while the crash site was identified at Sitio Mangingihe in Barangay Eheb in Tinoc. The areas are almost adjacent. Guides to Mount Pulag, the country’s second highest peak, were able to pinpoint the direction of the crash site, based on sightings by school children of a burning chopper. Barangay officials and community volunteers at Tawangan and Ballay areas were first on the scene during the frantic search on April 7. It took over 100 volunteers from Tinoc, Ifugao and Kabayan Benguet to retrieve and locate the bodies and crash site. Mayor Aquisan said there is a double purpose for the rituals as village elders say a similar accident occurred in the same area shortly after World War II. He said the annual Bendian Festival will be celebrated along with the ritual for the chopper. The festival is part of a sacred ritual made during abundant harvest and a thanksgiving to the gods. - GMANews.TV