Bulacan school execs‘liable for students’ deaths’

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the Bulacan State University (BSU) may be criminally and administratively liable for the drowning of seven students during a school-sanctioned excursion, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said yesterday.

He said schools are expected “to exercise effective guardianship of their students during off campus educational activities.”

“The students’ safety should be assured at all times,” Romulo, who chairs the committee on higher and technical education of the House of Representatives, said.

“We are counting on the authorities to get to the bottom of the horrible tragedy, and to take the appropriate actions against those accountable for possible criminal negligence,” he said.

He added that just like the students’ parents, he would like to know why they “were recklessly exposed to such extreme danger in the course of what should have been a trouble-free school outing.”

Mikhail Alcantara, Philip Rodney Alejo, Maiko Bartolome, Michelle Ann Rose Bonzo, Helena Marcelo, Madel Navarro and Jeanette Rivera drowned when a flash flood swept them as they were crossing the Madlum River during a field study at the Biak-na-Bato National Park in San Miguel town in Bulacan.

The victims were part of a group of about 180 BSU students.

“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, and our thoughts and prayers are with them,” Romulo said.

He said that in September 2004, eight people on a picnic – mostly children and teenagers – were also swept away when the Madlum River suddenly burst its banks due to rapid flooding.

“The river and its banks are clearly unsafe, especially during the rainy season. The students should not have been there at this time of the year,” he said.

Fact-finding panel formed

Meanwhile, BSU president Mariano de Jesus said a fact-finding committee was created to investigate the incident.

“I can assure you that the fact-finding committee is independent. No official of the university has been included in the committee,” he said.

As this developed, some families of the victims rejected assistance offered by the university.

Harold Marcelo, the father of Helena Marie, said no amount of money could bring his daughter back. – With Dino Balabo