Barili dump truck tragedy: Blame, superstition hound funeral

CEBU, Philippines - Some blame the driver, others say it was fate.

But for a mother who lost two sons and is taking care of an injured third child after Thursday’s tragic incident in Balao, Barili, the dead woman inside the coffin that the dump truck was transporting was to blame.

Ironically, the one making the blame was the deceased woman’s own daughter. 

“Si mama way kaluoy sa iyang mga apo, anak, ug mga kaliwat nga naangin sa hitabo,” said Josefina Ricaplaza, 50. (My mother had no pity for her children, grandchildren and relatives who died in the incident.)

The dumptruck was carrying the body of the late Tranquilina Imit, Ricaplaza’s mother, and more than 50 mourners on the way to the St. Anne’s Parish when it met an accident that killed 10.

Ricaplaza’s son Rosendo was declared dead at the Barili District Hospital while another son, Jimmy, died before reaching the Don Vicen-te Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City (DVSMMC). Her third son, 13-year-old Christian, is still under medical care at the (DVSMMC).

According to some residents, Imit had told one of her children before she died that she wanted to be carried from her house to her grave.

But her children failed to comply with her last wish by loading her coffin on the dump truck.

In fact after the accident, the Kangdampas barangay captain called for another   vehicle so Imit’s burial ceremony could proceed. But the vehicle’s wirings burned so it would not start, prompting them to call for a third vehicle to carry her coffin to the cemetery.

But while Ricaplaza blamed her dead mother, some neighbors blamed Ricaplaza herself.

“Ingon man diay nang tiguwang nga dili magpasakay wala pud mi ingna,” said a woman whose son was injured. (Why didn’t they tell us of Imit’s wish?)

Carmelita Yek, however, blamed the driver of the dump truck for continuing with the trip despite noting there was something wrong with the brakes of the vehicle.

“Kahibalo man diay siya nga dunay problema wa gyud niya gipanaog ang mga pasahero,” she said. (He should have asked all the people to get down the dump truck.)

Other families interviewed, however, said what happened was an accident.

The incident prompted the Department of Interior and Local Government to issue a memo to all local government units prohibiting the use of dump trucks for ferrying people. The driver, Alvin Bayno, is facing charges for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.

The 10 victims were buried yesterday at the Barili municipal cemetery after a mass at the St. Anne’s Parish Church officiated by Rev. Fr. Dennis Voltron. — (FREEMAN)