PSHS poisoning victim: Let law take its course

The 18-year-old victim of alleged mercury poisoning at the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) is still hoping for the best despite Malacañang’s reported decision to dismiss the administrative charges against one of the accused.

The victim is now a first year college student at the University of the Philippines (UP) taking up chemical engineering.

 “We just hope for the best. She is interested that justice will be done at all levels of this controversy, whether in court, in the Office of the President, etc.,” said the victim’s lawyer, Eugenio Villareal, in an interview with The STAR. “She is allowing that the law takes its course.”

Reports have it that Malacañang has cleared of administrative liability one of the two accused in the alleged mercury poisoning incident that happened in February 2006. The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office has found probable cause to indict the two students with frustrated murder.

The Palace decision would virtually overturn the earlier decision of the PSHS administration, which was upheld by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), holding two teenage boys liable for the incident that almost killed the victim. The suspects were classmates at the time of the incident.

Villareal said he has yet to see a copy of the Palace decision but they intend to air their concern to the management of the PSHS and DOST Secretary Estrella Alabastro.

He pointed out that the decision of the Palace on the administrative case will not in any way affect the criminal case now pending in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC).

“The law says that the RTC is not bound by any finding by the Office of the President,” Villareal said, adding that “we are mulling the possibility of sending a statement of concern to DOST because it will surely affect the victim emotionally.”

He said no matter what Malacañang says, “the RTC is free to say that in the criminal sense there is liability… the RTC has independent findings, both criminal and civil case – because every person criminally liable is civilly liable.”

Earlier, Quezon City RTC Branch 102 Judge Ma. Lourdes Giron issued a hold departure order against the accused to prevent them from leaving the country.

In filing the petition for the hold departure order, Villareal pointed out that “the accused has applied with and accepted in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA and Colgate University in New York USA and he has the necessary funding capability to leave the country.”

Quezon City Prosecutor Ferdinand Baylon recommended the filing of frustrated murder charges against the two boys, who were both 16 years old at the time of the offense on Feb. 14, 2006. The accused denied the charges. The victim was also 16 years old at the time.

“The boys have acted together and cooperated with one another and shared the same intention of poisoning another student by deliberately and intentionally with discernment putting a poisonous substance—mercury nitrate—into her jug, which injured a different person,” Baylon said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe