Friday, November 14, 2008 Claretians to seek justice for fellow missionary's death
QUEZON CITY -- A high-ranking member of the Claretian congregation (Missionary Sons of the Immaculate heart of Mary (CMF)) said on Wednesday they are now consulting with their lawyers on the appropriate charges they will file against the driver and operators of a bus that killed one of its missionaries.
Claretian provincial superior Father Renato Manubag said they will seek justice for the untimely and tragic death of one of its ranking congregation member, Fr. Domingo Moraleda, a Spanish national.
Moraleda was killed in a tragic accident at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)'s Mabalacat portion on All Saints' Day.
According to Manubag, he and two other Claretian priests had just visited and blessed the spot along the Mabiga portion of NLEX in Mabalacat town, and prayed for the safety of all motorists traversing that route.
Moraleda, the executive director of the Claretian-run Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia (Icla) here in Tandang Sora, and whom investigators identified as the driver of the ill-fated Toyota Revo, was instantly killed when the sports utility vehicle heading back to Manila was rammed head-on by a north-bound Fermina Express Bus, sending both vehicles in shattered wreck distances away due to the impact of the collision.
Five other persons, including Ruth Diane Ferrer, Moraleda's passenger and companion were killed during the accident while a score of 51 passengers on the bus suffered serious injuries.
The bus driver, identified as Bernardo Santos, and other injured persons were brought to a nearby hospital.
On November 3, the LTFRB regional office suspended for 30 days the 10-unit fleet of Fermina Express after the fatal November 1 smash-up, and had Santos suspended pending further investigation. LTFRB officials also ordered the immediate re-training of the bus line's other drivers.
For his part, Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales called on the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) to widen that part of the NLEx to avert any further mishaps and accidents. Morales' has earned the support of business and motorist groups on his plea.
Members of the Claretian community here said they were shocked and bereaved by the sudden and "violent" death of Moraleda and his companion. A Claretian nun said both were on their way back to the Manila after missionary work in the north.
Moraleda, who was a professor of this reporter in a Biblical exegesis and missiology course at Icla in 2006, was known for his cordial but strict nature.
The well-built Spanish priest would often politely interrupt classes at the institute to notify owners and drivers of vehicles there that they are parked in the driveway or other prohibited spaces in the compound and that they are obstructing traffic and posing danger to other students studying at ICLA.
Moraleda headed the institute where 159 students from 15 Asian nations, as well as students from Bolivia, Congo, Madagascar, Micronesia and Poland, together with lay leaders pursue higher studies in theology and missiology.
He spent seven years of his priesthood in Equatorial Guinea before serving 34 years in the Philippines.
After serving for several terms as provincial superior of the CMF in RP, he went on to get his doctoral degree in Rome to be qualified to head the institute that caters to providing academic formation to religious and lay people interested in getting ecclesiastically recognized degrees on consecrated life.
Moraleda's remains were interned at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish here before his ashes were placed under the tabernacle at the Icla chapel last November 8 until a permanent resting place is constructed.
Meanwhile, the Claretians also mourned the loss of Ferrer, whom they said was a well-loved volunteer at the institute.
"It was terribly painful that Diane perished in that senseless and preventable vehicular accident," said a Claretian priest there. He said Ferrer is only child of a CMF employee who has been serving the congregation for many years as bookkeeper and accounting clerk.
He said Ferrer just turned 21 last May and was taking up Law at Ateneo de Manila University while at the same time working in Claret School in Quezon City as secretary of the Student Development Center. (JTD)
