Habal-habal driver dies in Cebu City road accident

A vehicular accident in Brgy. Lahug, Cebu City resulted to the death of a 62-year-old habal habal driver and also injured his two female passengers on Thursday evening, August 8. | Traffic Enforcement Unit Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 62-year-old habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) driver died in a vehicular accident that happened along Veterans Drive in Brgy. Lahug, Cebu City on Thursday evening, August 8, 2024.

The accident involved three vehicles and happened at around 11:40 p.m. 

The victim was identified as Honorio Giltendez Pescador Jr., a habal-habal driver from Tisa, Labangon, Cebu City.

Meanwhile, two of his passengers sustained minor injuries. 

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They were identified as Lea Mae Bonocan, 24, and Christine Faran, 23. Both women are residents of Brgy. Lahug.

The victim was reportedly taking his passengers to their destination when his motorcycle was hit by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) driven by Belarmino Canillo Birao, 57.

Birao is a resident of Tubod Toledo City, Cebu and works as a truck driver. 

Lost control

Before colliding with Pescador’s motorycle, the SUV first hit another vehicle, a hatchback, driven by Emily Cabañero. 

Police Lieutenant Coronel Miguel Andeza, chief of the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU), said that the SUV was going downhill when it met the accident. 

Birao told police that he suddenly lost control of the SUV, causing him to sideswipe Cabañero’s car that was coming from the opposite direction. 

This incident resulted in the damage to the left-side portion of Birao’s hatchback.

After this, the SUV hit the front of Pescador’s motorcycle, which was behind the hatchback 

Due to the  impact, the motorcycle driver and his passengers were thrown off the motorcycle and landed hard on the pavement. 

While police are still waiting for the autopsy result to determine the cause of the driver’s death, Andeza said that the driver possibly hit his head hard on the ground.

Pescador died on the spot. His passengers, on the other hand, suffered minor injuries and are now recovering at a hospital in Cebu City. 

Both Birao and Cabañero were not harmed in the accident. 

Clutch malfunction?

According to Andeza, Birao was not under the influence of alcohol at the time.

As of this writing, law enforcers are verifying his claims that the clutch of his vehicle malfunctioned, resulting to the fatal accident. 

Birao is now under the custody of police while the victim’s family have yet to make a decision on whether they will be filing charges against him.

He could face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, physical injuries, and damage to properties, stated Andeza. 

The TEU chief also reminded drivers to exercise caution on the road and to routinely check the condition of their vehicles. 

Furthermore, he reminded habal-habal drivers that carrying more than one passenger is not allowed and that they may be held liable if they are caught violating the city ordinance on overloading.