Last May 19, 2024 at about noon, a vehicular accident occurred along the national road in barangay Puting Baybay in San Andres town at about noon.
However, the Catanduanes police learned of the incident only the following day, May 20 at 10:05 AM, when it was presumably reported to the San Andres police station.
According to the report, which was uploaded to the Catanduanes Police Provincial Office media chat group, a tricycle with four passengers was being driven by a 56-year-old Mayngaway resident when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to fall off a cliff.
Barangay officials and residents rushed to the scene and helped rescue the five victims, with responding personnel of the San Andres MDRRMO bringing them to the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital but one of the passengers, a 74-year-old Mayngaway native who was a resident of Tondo, Manila was declared dead on arrival at 1:25 PM that afternoon by on-duty physician, Dr. Aly Romano.
The other victims suffered multiple but apparently less severe physical injuries as they were not admitted for confinement.
The interesting thing about this report is that the family of the victim involved appears to have requested the police to ask the media to “kill” the story.
This is the second time that the family of one involved in an incident called for a similar action.
You may recall the old fisherman who had disappeared in Bato town and whose skeleton was found two years later with evidence that he had committed suicide.
A Manila-based member of the family demanded that the story, which appeared in the Tribune and in the social media page of a radio station, be deleted. Both media entities refused despite the threat of a lawsuit.
Both the grisly discovery in Bato and last Sunday’s accident in San Andres are considered “significant incidents” under an existing policy of the Philippine National Police.
It is strange, therefore, to find that the San Andres police apparently waited for someone to report the accident.
Based on the report, none of the first responders – members of the town’s MDRRMO – bothered to report the incident to the police. They probably thought that the police would send someone to the scene or at least ask the MDRRMO, whose building is just 50 meters away, to submit a report.
Even the barangay chairman, in whose jurisdiction the accident occurred, did no such thing although barangay officials and residents were credited with assisting the rescue effort. The Punong Barangay should have checked the accident scene if the area needed something to be done by the concerned authorities, the municipal government or the DPWH, so that it would be made safer for motorists.
*****
This issue’s headline story on the significant findings of the Commission on Audit on its review of the transactions of the Catanduanes provincial government in 2023 is the first of the Tribune’s series of reports on the Annual Audit Reports of local government units and selected national offices and agencies.
*****
THE DRUNKARD. A completely inebriated man was stumbling down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot in the gutter.
A police officer pulled up and said, “I’ve got to take you in pal. You’re obviously drunk.”
The wasted man asked, “Officer, are you absolutely sure I’m drunk?”
“Yeah buddy, I’m sure,” said the police officer, “Let’s go.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, the wino said, “Thank goodness. I thought I was crippled.”