.png){kind=logo}
1 day ago
5
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Artemio Dumlao - The Philippine Star
March 29, 2026 | 12:00am
The fatalities were identified as Rodolfo Tan, 68, and Neil Ongchangco, photographers of a local newspaper and of the Baguio City information office, respectively.
Photos are courtesy of DALUPIRIP BDRRMC, MDRRMO
ITOGON, Benguet, Philippines — Two photojournalists died while four others were rescued after their sport utility vehicle (SUV) was swept away by the current in a river in this town on Friday.
The fatalities were identified as Rodolfo Tan, 68, and Neil Ongchangco, photographers of a local newspaper and of the Baguio City information office, respectively.
Tan was declared dead on arrival at the Itogon District Hospital while Ongchangco, who was initially reported missing, was found six hours after the incident.
Three of the survivors were identified as Conrado Rotor Jr., 66; Eliza Consul, 59, and Randy Benigno, 49. They were rushed to the same hospital for medical assessment and were found to be in stable condition.
Rotor, a retired principal of the Philippine Science High School in the Cordilleras, is a contributing photographer of a newspaper based in Manila.
Consul is a contributing photographer for a local newspaper.
Reports said the victims were on their way home in a Toyota Fortuner driven by Tan, when they decided to cross the river in Barangay Dalupirip at around 1:20 p.m.
However, the current carried the SUV toward the middle of the river where the vehicle was stalled.
The death of Tan and Ongchangco prompted the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club to cancel the BCBC’s annual Lucky Summer Visitor or LSV program.
The BCBC, founded 62 years ago by print and broadcast journalists based in Northern Luzon, said it is calling off the 2026 LSV program as members mourn the loss of their colleagues.
The LSV program involves granting a five-day “red-carpet” treatment to a group of tourists who visits Baguio for the first time during the Holy Week.
Meanwhile, in Zamboanga del Sur, six people were injured when their vehicle fell into a ravine in Pagadian City yesterday morning.
The Nissan Extrail, driven by 71-year-old Evangeline Villamor, was traveling in Barangay Nazareth Buenavista when the vehicle’s engine shut down.
Probers said the vehicle rolled backward and fell off the cliff. — Roel Pareño
