Seat change saves bus passenger

MANILA, Philippines - A male passenger’s last-minute decision to switch seats in the Don Mariano bus spared him from certain death.

Ryan Brecia, one of the passengers of the Pacita-bound bus that plunged from the Skyway and crushed a van cruising the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) early yesterday, considered his survival a miracle.

Brecia boarded the bus to go to work in Muntinlupa City.

In an interview with radio dzMM, Brecia said he decided to move to a seat on the left side three rows behind the driver before the accident, which killed at least 18 people.

“It’s a miracle. When I boarded the bus, the conductor was blocking my path so I took a seat on the right side. When I felt uncomfortable because it was cramped, I transferred to the left side, on the third row,” he said in Filipino.

“If I had remained at the right side, I surely would be dead by now,” he said.

Brecia suffered bruises and contusions on his right arm and chest.

The Don Mariano bus rammed the Skyway railing and fell on top of a closed van at the junction of Taguig and Parañaque cities.

Reports said the back portion of the bus was completely crushed, with several passengers inside.

Brecia said the bus driver seemed to have been speeding and was having a hard time controlling the bus before the accident, but added that the road was wet from the rain.

Ivy Vidal, spokeswoman for the Skyway Operations and Maintenance Corp., said it was not clear what caused the accident.

‘Noche buena’ in hospital

Leny Balajadia, 45, was worried about her husband Ericson when she learned about the Skyway mishap from a morning show.

Ericson, a supervisor of an auto repair center in Las Piñas, would leave Antipolo for work at dawn and usually arrive at his office at around 7 a.m.

“I watched a television report about the accident around 7:30 a.m. I felt nervous because my husband took the same route as that of the bus,” Balajadia told The STAR.

Balajadia became more anxious when she was informed at around 9 a.m. that her husband had yet to report for work.

“When a secretary of the company informed me that my husband was not yet in the office, I immediately thought, my God, maybe he figured in that accident,” she said.

After some coordination with GMA News, Balajadia learned that her husband was one of those hurt in the mishap.

She immediately commuted to the Parañaque Doctors’ Hospital, where Eric was confined. Upon reaching the emergency room, she hugged her husband, who suffered fractures in his right rib and shoulder plate. Eric is now in stable condition.

“I was worried because he is the breadwinner of our family. I am thankful to God that he is alive,” a teary-eyed Balajadia said.

While the bus company Don Mariano Transit has promised to shoulder the victims’ expenses, the recovery of patients will take time. This means that some of the survivors will have to take time off from work.

Despite these concerns, Balajadia still counts her blessings. She is grateful that her husband, whom she described as “kind” and “a family man,” can still be with their family this Christmas.

“Even if we eat our noche buena (Christmas meal) here in the hospital, it’s OK as long as we are together,” she said.

Midterm exams missed

Iryl Silleza, a 20-year-old college student from Caloocan City, was forced to skip her midterm exams to visit her uncle Fernando Taladro, who was also hurt during the accident.

Silleza said there was no one else to accompany her uncle’s partner to the Parañaque Doctors’ Hospital, about five hours away from Caloocan.

“I have informed my classmate about the accident and I will talk to my professor so that I can take the exam at a later date,” Silleza said. “We rushed to the hospital without eating breakfast upon learning about the accident.”

Silleza said Taladro, who works for a construction firm in Cavite, suffered injuries on his shoulders but is now in stable condition. – With Alexis Romero