FIRST SAY:
Something I owe to the soil that grew—
More to the life that fed—
But most to Allah who gave me two
Separate sides to my head.
—Rudyard Kipling: ‘Kim’
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A news story written by our friend Pat C. Santos said Leland Bernal, 32, a resident of GSIS Village, Project 8, QC died after being pinned by a speeding 10-wheeler in Tondo, Manila last Saturday night. The truck was driven by Jonald Semenio, from Que Balag, Valenzuela City.
The incident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 along the northbound lane of Mel Lopez Boulevard, corner Katuparan Street, Vitas Tondo, Manila.
Police said that the motorcycle rider was traveling along the northbound lane of Mel Lopez Boulevard when he lost control and fell onto the road surface due to sand debris. The truck, which was also traveling in the same direction, ran over the motorcycle rider.
The injured rider was immediately brought to Tondo Medical Center Hospital for medical attention. However, he was declared dead on arrival at approximately 10:58 p.m. by the attending physician. Charges for reckless driving resulting in homicide have been filed against the truck driver.
While I condole with the family of Bernal (tagged by the police blotter as a victim) who lost a family member and perhaps a breadwinner, my heart and mind go to Semenio (tagged by the police as a suspect) whose most likely fault was just he was driving behind Bernal at a steady speed when the skidding happened. Bernal was dead because his motorcycle skid, due to the sand on the pavement.
Come to think of it, why does the police blotter identify the parties in a complaint as victim and suspect, as in a default identification box? In the case above, both Bernal and Semenio are victims, the difference is that Bernal died and Semenio survived. Analyzed further, Semenio should be more of a victim than Bernal.
Going down to basics, Mel Lopez Boulevard is a busy street and should have been free from debris and sand. It is the responsibility of the City of Manila and the MMDA and the barangay to keep it clean. The truck driver did not know that the rider’s motorcycle would skid.
Bernal also has the responsibility to maintain his motorcycle such as its tires, so that fatal skids like this would be prevented. Old and worn-out tires are dangerous. For all you know, the rider was dead because he did not maintain his vehicle well, aside from intentionally running fast on a sand-strewn road. But since he is already dead, the living party in this traffic mess will be the one to take all the blame, the punishment and the fines. Such bad luck!
With the way many motorcycle riders operate their two-wheelers, they are actually bullying the drivers of conventional four-wheel vehicles who want to obey the traffic rules. Motorcyclists only need to blow their very loud horns to signal and intimidate many of us to giving them space and preference on the road. And they do not see anything wrong with this practice, and traffic enforcers and policemen treat them as sacred cows and beyond the reach of traffic rules because many of them use motorcycles, too.
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The filing of the certificate of candidacy by those running for the midterm elections next May started on Oct. 1 and will end on Oct. 8. That is also the period within which candidates who have filed their COCs can withdraw and be substituted by another person, provided they belong to the same political party.
The start of the election season is also the beginning of the period of living dangerously for many individuals involved in the election process—the Comelec personnel, political leaders and followers, barangay officials, security escorts of candidates, and even ordinary voters and supporters. Elections in the Philippines are like that.
This situation calls to mind the recent deaths of Commission on Elections (Comelec) election officer Emmanuel Gacott and his wife Frenie in barangay Cambian, Agutaya town, Palawan last Sept. 21. The couple were found dead with stab wounds.
Their money worth P3 million was also missing from their home.
Police Maj. Ric Ramos, spokesman for the Palawan police, said that of the total reward money, P500,000 was put up by relatives of the victims and P50,000 was offered by the local government.
The police are diligently investigating this case at the moment. It could be that this was not an ordinary robbery or “akyat bahay” because the victim was a Comelec election officer. And the killings were committed right at the start of the election season.
The Philippine National Police should dig deeper into this double murder case.