Teduray farmer, horse die from accidental electrocution

COTABATO CITY — An ethnic Teduray farmer and his horse both died from accidental electrocution on Sunday night when they hit a high-tension power cable dangling loosely from a power post in a secluded hinterland in South Upi town, Maguindanao del Sur.

Teduray tribal councils in the province and the municipal police on Tuesday morning identified the fatality as Ronald Cornelio, a resident of Ranao Badak in South Upi, an upland town at the border of Maguindanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

Senior personnel of the South Upi Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and investigators in the local police told reporters that Cornelio was riding his horse on his way home late Sunday when he got tangled up with the power cable, causing his instant death.

Witnesses said Cornelio and his horse first wriggled for a few seconds before both of them passed out. 

The office of South Upi Mayor Reynalbert Insular helped facilitate the burial on Monday of Cornelio and provided his family with financial assistance needed for traditional rites related to his demise.

Insular had also asked the officials of the South Upi Municipal Police Station to initiate an extensive probe into the incident that resulted in Cornelio's death to determine who could be held liable for it.