MANILA, Philippines – In his first face-to-face encounter with the woman who drove the van that had run over his son, all Jose Fernando Alcantara could say was, “Was it you?” Alcantara, father of 10-year-old Julian Carlo Miguel “Amiel,” a Grade 4 student of the Ateneo Grade School who was killed in a three-vehicle mishap on the school grounds on Tuesday afternoon, told the Inquirer that he went to Camp Karingal by himself at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. He added that he had just come from Arlington Memorial Chapels where he supervised the preparation of his son’s body, adding that it took six hours to reconstruct Amiel’s face and head to make it fit for viewing. Before that, Alcantara said he was in Camp Crame for the autopsy of his boy’s body. “I just wanted to see the face of the person who took away someone so precious,” he said. According to him, he was disappointed with the response he got from Ma. Theresa Torres, who has been detained at Camp Karingal since the accident. “Except for a shrug and ‘Wala akong magawa, aksidente yun eh (I couldn’t do anything, it was an accident)’, I did not hear anything more from the driver,” he narrated. Alcantara, who described his son as like the “wind” because of his love for the outdoors, said he left without saying another word to Torres. He added that he did not know Torres, who also has a son studying at the school, before the accident. The Inquirer tried to talk to Torres but was turned away by Quezon City Police District traffic head, Supt. Rudie Valoria, who has custody of the suspect. “She said she is not in her right frame of mind to grant any interview,” Valoria said. He added that charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, serious physical injuries and damage to property had already been filed against Torres. Bail for her temporary liberty was set at P42,000. “After she posts bail, we have to release her, otherwise, we could be charged with illegal detention,” Valoria said. He said that based on their investigation, the brakes of the vehicle used by Torres, a Toyota Hi-Ace, at the time of the accident, were working. This contradicted her testimony that her brakes had failed. The younger Alcantara, his older brother, sister and nanny were walking toward their car on school grounds at around 4 p.m. Tuesday when Torres’ van hit the victim. The nanny, Tata Suarez, 65, was able to push Alcantara’s brother and sister safely out of the way before she was also hit by the van. Witnesses said that even after hitting the boy, the van did not slow down, only stopping when it hit a Honda CRV and another van. Amiel died on the way to the hospital while Suarez was set to undergo surgery for leg injuries. On Thursday, the Ateneo Grade School Boy Scouts bid farewell to Amiel by attending a Mass at a chapel on the school campus where the wake for the victim is being held. “He wanted to be an Eagle Scout and was working to be a first Boy Scout,” Delfin Bautista, advancement officer of the school’s boy scouts, said. His fellow scouts offered salute and scout claps for Amiel, whom they described as helpful, cheerful, fair and playful. “You could count on him to lend a helping hand when someone needed it,” one of the scouts said. The victim’s aunt, Sari Moreno, said her nephew would be cremated at the Arlington Memorial Chapels on Araneta Avenue at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Since the accident, Ateneo students and their parents have been lighting candles and offering flowers and prayers in the area in the parking lot where the accident occurred. “The children have been praying nonstop at the site where the boy fell. The area is lit up by candles,” a security guard of the school said in Filipino. --- It has become exceedingly difficult not to feel anger or blame towards this mother. When my dad relayed to us over dinner the contents of this article, my heart was pounding. Kumukulo dugo ko. She could at least have some remorse. There was no apology or anything! I heard she's already made bail. Hats off to the dad, for reacting the way he did, or rather, not reacting. He chose to be the bigger person, in the toughest, most emotional situation imaginable. |
Friday, February 27, 2009
How disappointing, indeed.
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