Authorities recovered the bodies of Ely and Thelma Ubatay five days after they were reported missing in a landslide along the Davao-Bukidnon Road in Palacapao, Quezon, Bukidnon.
According to the Quezon municipal government, the couple was found around 9:31 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, following an extensive retrieval operation led by the 10th Infantry Division. Search and rescue dogs helped locate the victims in the collapsed section of the road.
The Ubatays were last seen on the night of October 18, around 10 p.m., when the landslide occurred. They were traveling home in their vehicle, locally known as a “bao-bao,” when they were caught in the road collapse.
Rescue personnel from multiple agencies had manually dug through the debris for several days before using heavy machinery to reach the area where the couple was buried.
Authorities confirmed that the Ubatays had come from Quezon Central Market, where they earned a living selling vegetables. Their vehicle was found under layers of soil and rocks from the massive landslide.
Local officials extended condolences to the victims’ family as the community mourned the loss, highlighting the dangers of traveling in mountainous areas during unstable weather conditions.
