Pa’s death in collapsed building leaves child orphaned
Police in Angeles City cordoned off the area surrounding the nine-story building project that collapsed before dawn on Sunday, May 24, 2026. So far, four bodies had been recovered in the collapsed structure, and according to survivors, there were reportedly some children at the site before it collapsed. GRIC C. MONTEGRANDE
ANGELES CITY—“Punta Papa (Let’s go to Papa).” A 2-year-old girl repeated the words, unaware her father, Ferdinand Arogante, 30, was buried in a collapsed building in Barangay Balibago after the May 24 tragedy.
She insisted on joining relatives searching for him. Her grandmother said she did not understand the situation.
Authorities later confirmed that Ferdinand was among the dead.
The child, who lost her mother a year earlier, is now orphaned. Rescuers have since recovered more bodies, raising the death toll to 21.
