Friends, schoolmates flock to Ateneo road accident victim's wake

MANILA, Philippines - Love poured out on the eve of the funeral of 10-year-old Julian Carlo Miguel "Amiel" Alcantara, the Ateneo fourth grade pupil who died in a vehicular accident inside the campus last Tuesday. Relatives, friends and schoolmates, who all expressed their love for Amiel, flooded in to attend the Mass at the wake on Friday. The wake is being held at the Chapel of the Holy Guardian Angels at the grade school grounds of the Ateneo de Manila University on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. Amiel was killed after he was hit by a van and pinned under another vehicle inside the Ateneo campus Tuesday. His nanny, Tomasa “Tata" Suarez, sustained leg injuries. The driver of the Toyota Hi-Ace van, Ma. Theresa Torres, remains in the custody of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD). Torres had earlier issued her apology to the family. Amiel's remains will be cremated at the Arlington Crematorium in Quezon City at 2 p.m. Saturday. In her sworn statement, Torres – who is a 37-year-old mother of another fourth grade pupil at the Ateneo – said that her vehicle’s faulty brakes were to blame for the accident. But PO2 Jun Cuaresma of the QCPD’s Traffic Sector 3 earlier said that he checked the vehicle’s brake and found it functioning well, prompting him to theorize that Torres might have stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. Amiel’s father, Jose Fernando “Pepe" Alcantara, subsequently filed on Wednesday a formal complaint of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries against Torres. Traffic Sector 3 chief Senior Inspector Erlito Renegin said on Friday that Torres posted a bail bond of P42,000 – P30,000 of which was for the homicide aspect of the case, while P12,000 was for the physical injuries of the case. Suspect granted freedom In a related development, Torres was released from police custody late Friday night after she was given temporary freedom by the Quezon City metropolitan trial court Branch 39. QTV’s News on Q reported that Torres was spirited away from the QCPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit, where she was held in detention for three days. Her lawyer, Rolando Villones said that Torres will not be brought to their house immediately and may spend the night at a convent. He also said that his client is still not in her right frame of mind because she is still shocked over the accident. Villones also assured that her client will cooperate in future court proceedings. The report said the development came after Torres posted a bail bond of P36,000 - P30,000 of which is for the charge of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide while the other 6,000 is for the charge of reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries. The local court had earlier imposed a P42,000 bail bond for Torres. Pepe Alcantara, for his part, expressed disappointment for the Torres’ posting of bail, even as the offenses lodged against her were bailable. “A bail for 20 pieces of crispy pata for pain and death…For this community, [that] is almost impossible to understand," Mr. Alcantara was quoted as saying in GMA News’ Mariz Umali’s report, also in 24 Oras. Apology accepted Earlier during the day, Torres also extended her apologies to Amiel’s grieving family. "I apologize to them for the difficulties, sorrow, and trouble plaguing their lives brought by the tragic accident and I pray to God that they overcome that suffering. I and my family are also suffering from this experience. God knows no one among us wants this thing to happen in our lives," Torres said in a statement. The Alcantara family accepted her request for forgiveness, but for them, what would make up for Amiel’s death was for Torres to own up to her supposed “negligence and recklessness." “Kahit humingi na ng tawad, mahirap tanggapin, ngunit [Despite her apology, we still can’t accept the death of our son, but] we appreciate that there is a statement. At the end, Ms. Torres must face to gross negligence and recklessness," Pepe said. “We cannot do something wrong and go out there and make a statement beautifully crafted," he added. - GMANews.TV