Teacher, driver missing in Sagay river

BACOLOD - A teacher and a driver of a motorcycle taxi or “habal-habal” were reported missing after they fell in Himogaan River in Barangay Bato, Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Friday morning, July 14.

City Police Chief Robert Mansueto Jr. identified the two as Rona Beleganio, 23, of Barangay Himoga-an Baybay and Clodealdo Abesamis, 58, of Barangay Baviera.

Mansueto said Beleganio boarded the motorcycle driven by Abesamis on their way to an elementary school around 7:30 a.m. As they were approaching the overflow bridge, the motorcycle fell while the driver was trying to avoid another motorcycle. “It was raining and the water was high,” Mansueto said.

The victims were carried by strong current, he added. After a few hours, Beleganio’s bag and a pair of shoes were recovered a few meters away from the river bank.

As of 5 p.m. on Friday, the victims have yet to be found. Mansueto said they tapped the barangay officials and other authorities in the adjacent barangays to help in the operation. Last year, the bodies of a woman and her daughter were found on the bank of Himoga-an River, 11 hours after they were reported missing.

The victims were thrown off when the truck boarded by their family fell into the river. The woman’s husband and their 12-year-old son were unharmed.