MOUNTAIN PROVINCE-The former mayor of Sagada in Mountain Province, his wife and two others died in a car crash while on vacation in Calgary, Canada on July 26 at 10:30 am (Canada time), government sources said.
Former Sagada Mayor James “Payko” Pooten Jr. and wife, Cymbeline Joan, cousin Arlene Guzman-Padalla, 62, and her son, Jacob, 32, were aboard a small sports utility vehicle when it collided head on with a semi-truck hauling a grain trailer.
All four passengers of the SUV were declared dead at the scene.
The driver of the semi-truck suffered minor injuries and was treated by Emergency Medical Service crew at the site.
The Pooten couple drove from Baguio City to Manila and flew to Canada on July 18.
Pooten was the youngest among six siblings and is survived by his brothers, Atty. Richard Stone “Bagano” Pooten, Atty. Basil “Basilio” Pooten and Fr. Patrick Mathew Pooten and his sister, Dra. Frances Jane “Abbay” Pooten-Kiat-ong; He was preceded in death by his brother Wellington “Dalapus” Pooten, his parents, James “Lasan” Pooten and Magdalena Bagano Pooten of Sagada and Besao, Mountain Province.
“Payko” served two terms as mayor of Sagada, Mountain Province from 2016 to 2022, leaving a legacy in the community he loved so dearly, his kin said.
His dedication to public service and his compassionate leadership will be remembered by all who knew him, they added.
His wife, Cymbeline, a retired nurse from St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City, also passed away with him. After retirement they resided at their family home in Brookside, Baguio City. She is survived by her brother, Paul Piluden Lumpias.
The couple left their two children, Manuel James III “Jigo,” who resides in Canada, and Jamie Ann “Lim-ag,” a nurse in North Carolina.#
