Manila, Philippines - A “Run for Road Safety” will be held to commemorate the first death anniversary of journalist Lourdes “Chit” Simbulan, who was killed in an accident last year.
The run will be held on May 13, with participants coming from Antipolo, Quirino Grandstand, Gateway in Cubao and Fairview.
According to an advisory posted on the Facebook page of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, the participants will converge at the Quezon Memorial Circle, where a program will be held. The late journalist taught at the UPCMC and was part of VERA Files, a group of investigative journalists.
Based on the advisory from her husband, UP professor Roland Simbulan, the run was sponsored and organized by civic groups; the Department of Transportation and Communications; the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority; the Land Transportation Office; the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board; the Automobile Association of the Philippines and the newly formed “Families of Road Victims and Survivors,” among others.
Roland is lead convener of the group with former Bulacan governor Obet Pagdanganan and Pepe Alcantara as co-conveners.
The late journalist died in an accident on the night of May 13, 2011 while in a cab on her way to a friends’ gathering at the UP Ayala Land Technohub along Commonwealth Avenue.
Two bus drivers – Daniel Espinosa and Victor Ancheta – are facing criminal charges before a court in connection with the accident. Both of them have pleaded not guilty to the offense of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property with homicide.
Initially, it was just Espinosa of Universal Guiding Star bus firm who was tagged in the accident after he left his bus at the crime scene. But a reinvestigation by the police showed there was another bus involved in the accident, the one driven by Ancheta of Nova Auto Transport Inc.