MAGSINGAL, Ilocos Sur – Singer Wilma Pando Valencia, whose recordings of popular love songs helped promote Ilocano music, was killed in a vehicular accident on Sunday, Oct. 11.
Investigation said Valencia, 56, of Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur, was traveling southbound at around 2:30 a.m. when a vehicle sideswiped her motorcycle in Barangay Panay Norte here.
She was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead.
Police said the incident was initially reported as a single-vehicle accident but follow-up investigation led to the arrest of the driver of the vehicle allegedly involved in the crash.
Valencia was popular for her renditions of popular songs, including “Narigat Iti Manglipat” (It is Difficult to Forget) and “Gapu Ken Ayat” (Because of Love), which gained radio airplay and following in Ilocano-speaking communities.
A fellow musician in a social media tribute said Valencia recorded hundreds of Ilocano songs and contributed to the “40 Non-Stop Ilocano Disco Medley” produced by Alfonso Lao. Music listings also credit her as the composer of “Gapu Ken Ayat.”
Fellow musicians and listeners mourned and paid tribute to her for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of Ilocano music.
Valencia was a project development officer for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 1 (Ilocos).
