Barangay captain dies in collapse of Cotabato building

A barangay captain in Makilala, Cotabato died when the barangay hall collapsed during the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that rocked Mindanao anew on Thursday.

According to Ivan Mayrina’s report for Balitanghali, Cesar Bangot of Batasan in Makilala was on the second floor of the barangay hall when the earthquake struck.

He was using a rope to tie up a piece of tarpaulin in order to create a temporary office as the building had already been rendered unfit for use by the two previous earthquakes that had jolted Mindanao this month.

When the first floor of the building collapsed completely, the victim was buried under the rubble.

Authorities have recovered his remains.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Rodero, local officials estimated that 80 percent of the houses and buildings in the area have collapsed due to the quake.

Residents have already evacuated their homes out of panic.

The strong temblor struck Mindanao just two days after a 6.6-magnitude rocked Tulunan, Cotabato. 

On October 16, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the same area. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News