Teachers injured in Bataan bus crash return to hospital due to pain

Some of the teachers who were injured when the bus they were riding fell off a cliff in Orani, Bataan on Saturday have returned to hospital due to pain, the Quezon City Public School Teachers Association (QC-PSTA) has said.

“Ang ilan po ay normal naman ngunit ngayon ay nararamdaman na ng mga guro na nakaligtas ‘yung pananakit ng kanilang katawan at pamamaga ng ilang bahagi ng kanilang katawan kaya ang ilan ay babalik sa QC General Hospital upang ipatingin ito,” said QCPSTA president Kris Navales in Jaime Santos’ report on “24 Oras Weekend.”

(Some of them felt normal but now the teachers feel pain and swelling in some parts of their body, so some of them will go back to QC General Hospital for medical assessment.)

While the QC-PSTA thanked the immediate response and assistance of the Quezon City government and the Department of Education QC, Navales still asked the agencies to continue helping the victims until they recover.

“Panawagan lang naming sa mga awtoridad na tulungan pa sa iba pang mga pangangailangan ang mga nasangkot na guro sa insidente hanggang sa maka-recover sila,” he said.

(We only call on the authorities to help the teachers involved in the incident with other needs until they recover.)

The crash took place around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, when the DepEd QC bus carrying 48 passengers, the driver and an alternative driver, traversed “a very sharp curve, lost its brakes and plunged into a 15-meter ravine,” the Schools Division Office of Quezon City said.

The passengers were Quezon City public elementary and secondary school teachers who left the Sinagtala Resort in Orani, Bataan to attend a Gender and Development activity.

One of the passengers, Payatas B Elementary School teacher Janice Pontillas, was declared dead on arrival at the Orani District Hospital.

Orani, Bataan Police chief Police Major Larry Valencia earlier said the bus lost its brakes, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

Valencia added that the area where the bus crashed was not accident-prone and, citing the statements of the passengers, the driver was driving at a regular speed.

Meanwhile, the police officer said the bus driver may face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

“Hinihintay na ang po natin ‘yung mga representative doon sa school. Possible na makaharap na kaso nitong driver is reckless imprudence resulting [in] homicide.”

(We are waiting for the representatives at the school. Possible charge this driver will face is reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.)

The teachers are likewise waiting for the official results of the investigation before taking legal action.

Earlier in the day, Valencia said that the bus driver was released from detention after Pontillas’ family decided that they would discuss the matter further.

Meanwhile, Pontillas’ husband, who is working in Taiwan, is expected to return home to the Philippines. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA Integrated News