MANILA – A Mass for full healing was held Saturday morning at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Bayombong Nueva Vizcaya, where most of the victims of the April 18 Leomeric minibus crash are being treated.
Meanwhile, financial assistance from the Leomeric bus company was expected to be given out.
Also, radio reports said President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the grant of financial assistance to the victims of the crash, involving an overloaded Leomeric bus that plunged into a ravine at a sharp curve on the highway in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija on Tuesday. According to radio reports, P20,000 in assistance will be given to each family of the fatalities; and P10,000 to the survivors.
Relatives of the victims attended the Saturday morning mass at the Veterans hospital, presided over by Archbishop Ramon Villena
Most of those who attended the mass wore white ribbons on their heads as a sign of solidarity with the victims.
In his homily, Villena underscored the families’ pain of accepting the loss of loved ones. The Mass was also an occasion for expressing gratitude for the lives of those who survived the horrific crash.
The Mass likewise provides a way for the families of both wounded and dead to be united in their difficult moments, despite the nightmare, he said.
Among those who attended the celebration of Mass were officials of the Nueva Vizcaya PNP and the regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, led by LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra.
As of Saturday, the death toll stands at 34, while 43 others are wounded.
Meanwhile, families of the victims expect the bus company to provide them a fair amount of assistance. They also look forward to getting the P100,000 due them from an insurance company.