It's a wonder that thousands of children don't die every single day in the Philippines. The amount of Filipino children left to their own devices to wander the neighborhood and play in the street is rather large. Add to that the many terrible drivers plying the roads and tragedy is just waiting to happen.
Cue this story.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/931158/2-kids-run-over-by-taxi-in-caloocan-1-dead/story/ |
Two boys were run over by a taxi while playing in the middle of the road in Barangay 187 in Tala, North Caloocan on Thursday, leaving one of them dead.
According to Darlene Cay’s report on "24 Oras" on Friday, the victims were 5 and 6 years old, and were cousins.
CCTV footage showed that the taxi driver positioned his vehicle as he was about to make a turn to Dalia Street, where the children were playing. It can also be seen in the footage that the driver was signaling from inside the vehicle for the kids to get out of his way.
A girl went to the victims to tell them to get off the road. But before the boys could stand up, the vehicle suddenly moved forward towards the street, running over the children.
Two boys aged 5 and 6 are playing IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. A taxi pulls up and signals for the boys to move so he can make a turn. A girl runs up tp the boys, taps them on the shoulders, and tells them to get out of the road. But they don't move. Instead the taxi, rather than making sure the road was clear, pulls forward and runs over the children.
The driver stopped but he did not immediately reverse the taxi as the victims remained pinned under the front wheels.
The 6-year-old victim “JC” was able to crawl away from the taxi, but his 5-year-old cousin “Ismael” was in critical condition. The latter was rushed to the hospital, but he later on died.
“Hinahanap niya papa niya, ‘papa, papa.’ Sabi ko, ‘Anak, papunta si papa,” said Ivy Espina, Ismael’s mother.
(He was looking for his papa as he uttered, ‘papa, papa’. I told him, ‘Son, your papa will arrive soon.’)
“Mga ilang salita lang siya sa akin, sabi niya madilim daw paningin niya, wala raw siyang makita,” said Robert Mangunay, the victim’s father.
(He only had a few words to say to me. He told me that his vision is dark and he cannot see anything.)
The parents said that they were inside their home to repair a washing machine, which is their source of income when the incident happened. They already talked to the taxi driver.
Meanwhile, JC is still in the hospital after suffering broken bones and several bruises.
“Naaawa ako siyempre. Masakit bilang ina na ganun ang nangyari sa anak ko,” said mother Jamaica Pascual.
(I feel sorry for my son. It pains a mother to know that such a thing happened to her child.)
Where were the parents that they couldn't look after these boys? In the house repairing a washing machine. Was there no one to watch the boys? Did they not have a gate or a door that could lock so the boys would not go outside? What's more likely is that these boys are always playing in the middle of the road along with the rest of the neighborhood children. It's no big deal because drivers always look out, right?
The mother's comments are hilarious. She should be pained and ashamed that she allowed her son to play in the middle of the road. She did this to her son. I feel sorry he has a mother such as her.
The taxi driver was brought to the traffic center of North Caloocan, but was released as the families of the victims have yet to file charges against him.
“Nag-insist yung family na mag-desistance kaya walang choice ang investigator natin kundi i-release yung suspect. Kinakailangan kasi ng family yung immediate assistance, kaya siguro nag-decide sila na mag-areglo.” said P/Capt. Nelson Dizon of the Philippine National Police Caloocan North Police Station.
(The family insisted on desisting so the investigator had no choice but to release the suspect. The family could be in need of assistance that’s why they decided to make arrangements with the driver.)
But Ismael’s family said that they would push through with the filing of a case if the driver would not take accountability for the incident.
“Kapag hindi nila inano, hinarap yung problema nila, itutuloy namin yung kaso sa kanila,” said Mangunay.
(If he will not face the problem, we will continue with the filing of the case.)
GMA Integrated News reached out to the taxi driver for comment.
And there it is.
This taxi driver ran over two children, killed one of them, and THE FAMILY HAS TO FILE CHARGES!!! Where is the justice in that? Where is the local prosecutor? Why didn't the cops file homicide charges? Because the family might want to settle with the driver. As long as you pay for the funeral you can get away with vehicular homicide in the Philippines.
True, another story says this:
Cacho, a resident of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, is now under police custody.
Police said appropriate charges will be filed against the taxi driver at Caloocan City Judicial Office.
https://mb.com.ph/2024/12/27/5-year-old-boy-dies-after-being-hit-by-taxi-in-caloocan-1
But the Manila Bulletin story was published 3 hours before the GMA article making it more authoritative.
This is just another story highlighting the lack of justice in the Philippines as well as the lack of good parenting.
