Help pours in for Bar exam blast victim

Government officials pledged to give assistance to a law student whose two legs were amputated below the knee due to severe injuries she sustained after the explosion on the last day of the Bar examinations last Sunday. On Friday, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim visited Raissa Laurel at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, and brought a wheelchair for the blast victim, a law student at the San Sebastian College. “Napakahirap sa isang pasyente na maghapon nakahiga sa kama. Baka she wants to stroll around the corridors of the hospital, magagamit ‘yung wheelchair," Lim said on Friday in an interview aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." (It’s difficult for a patient to lie in bed all day long. She might want to stroll around the corridors of the hospital, and the wheelchair would be useful.)
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez also visited Laurel on Friday, and pledged to give the law student a scholarship grant. Rodriguez likewise said that he is coordinating with San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Manila president, Fr. Anthony Morillo, regarding the possibility of shouldering the expenses for the Laurel’s prosthetic legs. Some 47 people were hurt after a World War II-vintage fragmentation grenade exploded among a mostly law-student crowd near the De La Salle University (DLSU) campus along Taft Avenue, where Bar examinations were held this year. President Benigno Aquino III visited victims of the blast last Wednesday, and promised to give high priority to investigating the incident. (See: Aquino assures high-priority probe on Bar exam blast) Earlier, Chief Justice Renato Corona also visited Laurel on Thursday, and promised to hire the law student once she recovers from her injuries. Determined Despite the tragic incident, Laurel said she is still determined to finish her studies and pursue law as a profession in the future. “Lagi kong pinagpe-pray na sana (I constantly pray that hopefully) I become a great lawyer, someone who will make a difference to the country," she said in a separate television interview. Laurel said she draws her strength from Holy Bible verses, as well as from the love showered by her family and friends. “I am willing to be here for her…, carry her, and love her unconditionally," said Reiner Subijano, Laurel’s boyfriend who temporarily left his studies to care for his girlfriend. Personnel from the National Bureau of Investigation also went to the hospital on Friday to get statements from Laurel to help them identify the culprits behind the explosion.—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV