One of the four missing passengers of the vehicle that fell in the Aug.29 Agana bridge collapse was found dead in Barangay Carael at Dagupan City in Pangasinan on Monday.
Fishermen helped retrieve the body of James Patrick Taborlupa, 30, who was a former staff nurse at the Jecsons Medical Center in Tarlac City.
Still missing are Paul Harvey Collado, nurse supervisor at the Jecsons Medical Center, Shanen Tuhao, and Shiela Mae Taborlupa, who were occupants of the SUV that plunged into the raging Tarlac River when the bridge was torn apart during very heavy rains.
The SUV’s lone survivor was Nataniel Dizon, 20, who shared a post about his uncle Taborlupa’s last advice: ‘Pagraduate ka na pala Not, papayamanin mo na si Ate Bel (Mama mo) nyan ha, kasi deserve nya, ka swerte nyo ni NatNat sa Mama nyo, sobrang bait, sya lang yung palaging naaasahan, at pinaka napalapit na pinsan namin na palaging nandyan.’
(You are about to graduate, Not, [Dizon’s nickname]. Make your mother rich. You are lucky to have her as your dependable mother and a cousin with whom we have grown close)
Agana Bridge, which was constructed in the 1980s, links Tarlac City to the towns of Sta. Ignacia, Mayantoc, Camiling and San Clemente, and is often used to reach the Pangasinan town of Mangatarem.
Dizon complained that the rescue efforts took a long time and he was not immediately brought to the hospital. Instead, bystanders kept taking videos and uploaded them as social media content.
‘Niligtas ko talaga ang sarili ko doon, ako lang, walang nag-rescue sa akin o sa amin. Mas inuna niyo pang mag-video,’ he posted on Facebook