The nine victims in the Boljoon incident were laid to rest on Sunday morning, July 21. | Delta Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The nine victims who died in a truck accident in Barangay Upper Becirril, Boljoon town, south Cebu, were laid to rest around 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 20, at the Boljoon Public cemetary.
Boljoon Mayor Merlou Derama said the family of the victims opted to bury their loved ones two days after the incident because they needed to go back to their farmlands in the mountain to work.
“Ganahan ra sila nga ilubong na lang dayon kay sakitan sila magtan-aw. (The families wanted to bury the dead early because it hurts to keep watching them),” said Derama.
The municipal government and the provincial government paid for the expenses of the burial services, as they promised in previous statements.
Read more: Boljoon accident takes nine lives, leaves shattered dreams in its wake
All nine victims, Jefferson Georfa, 11, Jerome Niere, 11; Mary Ann Filipino, 12; Janna Delos Santos, 12; Clint Isidore Dugang, 10; Mark Lloyd Masqueda, 12; Riza Mae Vinan, 10; Victoria Gorozon, 40; and Alexander Villanueva, 20, were laid in adjacent tombs in the Boljoon cemetary to remind the public of the “tragic incident.”
The seven children and two adults were on board a mini dump truck owned by the town along with 22 other passengers on their way to the town center on Friday, July 19, when the truck turned upside down and fell off a road side cliff.
Driver, Danilo Nieres, 50, said that he lost control of the truck upon going downhill from Barangay Nangka and he tried to save the passengers by turning the truck towards the mountain side, but the truck turned upside down instead.
Read more: Truck driver apologizes for Boljoon accident, resigns future to fate
Nieres was proven to be sober after getting a negative result in the alcohol test, but he will still face charges of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries.
Derama said that the families have begun to go home after the burial and expressed their hopes for justice over their loved ones’ deaths.
Read more: Mayor assures: Financial aid to Boljoon accident victims’ families
The municipal government are still providing for the 22 injured individuals of the incident as some are still recuperating in the hospitals.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who visited the wake of the victims on Saturday, July 20, already promised the victims of the Capitol’s support to the bereaved families and ordered a thorough investigation on the incident. /dbs