The Manila-bound bus tried to overtake another vehicle on Maharlika Highway only to run into the 10-wheeler cargo truck just outside this town, provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Leo Kison said.
The truck was making a turn into a feeder road when it got hit from behind. The accident happened at about 2 a.m., police said. There were 45 people on the bus.
Two of the fatalities were decapitated.
Senior Superintendent Artemio Bermido, regional traffic police chief, said the bus driver, Freddie dela Cruz, 32, either was sleepy or lost control of the bus, which came from the Bicol region.
Dela Cruz faces charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, multiple physical injury and damage to property.
Reckless driving is one of the most common causes of several rural road accidents that happen each year, often involving provincial buses, the most common mode of public transportation across the archipelago. — With Ed Amoroso, Rene Alviar, AFP