Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Mass held for survivors of fallen tree By Ian Ocampo Flora
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Edita Lopez, the newly installed principal of San Isidro Elementary School here, was more than excited to take her new post.
She is planning to clean up the school and rally local support for such an endeavor. But what greeted her on her fifth day at work was a disaster she would rather forget.
On the morning of July 10, while pupils and teachers were busy tending to the school gardens, an accident happened. The old Tamarind tree at the back of the school collapsed, pinning under its branches and trunk 11 pupils as it came down. Shouts of pupils and teachers filled in the morning air.
"We did not now what to do. Fortunately tricycle drivers outside the school came to help. We were all disoriented," Lopez said while showing to Sun.Star where the accident took place.
She said Grade V pupils Jericho Garcia, Joshua Paulo Vicente Mark John Labayno, Edrie Isaac, Thelma Basco, Maria Cristina Castro, Marco Paulo Navarro and Melito Laminosa were among those who were hurt. Along with them were Michelle Valle, Mia Gracia Chua and Julie Ann Lita, all Grade VI students.
Among the victims Valle, Chua and Laminosa sustained most injuries. The 11-year-old Valle sustained fractures, which rendered her under critical condition for hours.
The pupils were rushed to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital and the Mother Theresa of Calcutta Medical Center.
Last Friday, the school celebrated a thanksgiving mass in the school's covered court.
"It was a miracle that all of them are recovering fast now. The greatest miracle is the outpouring of support from officials and kind donors," Lopez said.
Doctors handling the cases of the children said all of them are fine while those with critical injuries will still be able to walk after a few therapy sessions. Fortunately, no one died in the accident.
The thanksgiving mass was attended by the victims, along with classmates and city officials led by Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago, City Administrator Ferdinand Caylao and Councilor Jimmy Lazatin.
The City Government has provided the medical needs of the victims. Other donors also shelved out whatever they could. Most of the victims come from indigent families of the barangay.
"It is easy for anyone to recover from an injury with the needed help in place, but we are worrying now on the recovery of these children from the trauma of the said accident," Santiago said, adding that moral support is now being given to victims.
Investigations revealed that the tree collapsed because of its old age and that its trunk was already rotten. The trunk, which originally fell on the students, has already been "cannibalized" by local residents.
"We are also asking our officials and concerned residents to help us in maintaining the facilities and safety of our school," Lopez told attendees in the thanksgiving mass.
