Heart-wrenching cries and lamentations filled the air when parents and relatives claimed the remains of the students who died in a bus accident on Monday on their way to a training camp in Tanay, Rizal.
Seringan lamented that the school should also coordinate with the other grief-stricken families. He said his family has been coordinating with the school administration of BestLink for the transfer of his sister’s remains to their home town in Isabela province.
BestLink student Aiza Bagnog, 19, said she has been with one of the victims, Jonahfay Cerezo, since high school.
Cerezo was a freshman.
“Kahit hindi kami close, parang malaki pa rin ang nawala sa akin eh. High school pa lang po nakikita ko na siya. Pero kahit na ba, kawalan pa rin siya sa akin, (Even though we were not so close, it’s a big loss to me. I’ve been seeing her since our high school days.”
About 50 BestLink students were on a field trip for a National Service Training Program subject when they met the accident.
BestLink Novaliches Coordinator for Special Activities Zanny Samsona said the students were not compelled to join the excursion.
“We gave them an option to either do an alternative project,” Samsona said, denying that the students were asked to do a thesis if they opted not to join the field trip.
DOLE investigates
The Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE) on Tuesday dispatched a team of inspectors to conduct a thorough probe into the grisly accident.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said that investigators will determine if the company that owned the bus complied or violated the General Labor Standards (GLS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS).
Under existing regulations, bus firms are required to ensure the safety of commuters and train their drivers and conductors on the handling and maintenance of a bus.
Bello also directed the Employees Compensation Commission to provide the necessary assistance and rightful benefits to the family of the driver of the bus who was also killed in the accident.
WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL