GUIUAN, Eastern Samar, lost its parish priest while his assistant parish priest remains in a hospital when both figured in separate vehicular accidents during the onslaught of Typhoon Basyang in the Visayas on Tuesday.
Both priests were on their way back to Guiuan after attending the presbyterium meeting of the Diocese of Borongan.
Fr. Moses Campo, 50, parish priest at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, was driving a Ford Ranger when his vehicle was hit by a truck along the national highway in Barangay Naparaan in the town of Salcedo at around 3:50 p.m. on February 13.
Initial investigation showed the truck was driving south when the driver lost control upon reaching the curve portion of the road. The truck crossed the opposite lane and hit the vehicle driven by the priest.
Campo sustained serious physical injuries and was brought immediately by Salcedo Emergency Rescue Team to Felipe Abrigo Memorial Hospital in Guiuan for medical treatment, but died while being treated.
The driver of the truck fled after the incident and remained unidentified as of press time.
An hour earlier, Campo’s assistant parish priest Father Edmel Raagas met an accident along the national highway in Barangay Anuron in the town of Mercedes when he lost control of a Hyundai Accent he was driving due to the slippery road caused by heavy rains.
Raagas bumped into an electrical post at the right side of the road. He was rescued by bystanders who brought him to Polymedic Hospital in Guiuan for medical treatment.
Witnesses at the scene said the priest was trapped inside the burning vehicle resulting to his skin burns.
Basyang brought heavy rains to Eastern Samar. Access to the provincial capital Borongan from other provinces was cut due to flooding in the town of Taft in the northern part and a landslide in the town of Quinapondan in the southeastern part of the province.
The bodies of three unidentified young men were found at the shore of Cabong beach in this city. Three persons were also declared missing in Guiuan.
In the town of Jipapad, 27 families evacuated due to flooding.