By Alithea De Jesus
Fulfilling his commitment to support all the victims at the recent Skyway Extension project site accident, Ramon S. Ang, president and COO of San Miguel Corporation, has extended cash assistance of P20M for the lone fatality and eight injured people.
The amount is on top of the medical and other expenses shouldered by its Skyway project contractor EEI Corporation.
“I’ve been deeply affected by the pain this has caused them and have been assessing different ways to assist the victims of this unfortunate accident, apart from what our contractor EEI has been providing them. I hope this amount would be a step towards helping them rebuild their lives. With the right support, we can all overcome adversity and lead full lives,” Ang said.
Even as EEI Corporation is the one handling the project’s construction, Ang himself issued a public apology and promised to provide for the needs of the victims following the mishap—which involved an EEI subcontractor’s crane losing balance and hitting a steel girder, causing it to fall on vehicles. Ang said that a significant portion of the package will go towards long-term support for the family of the deceased, Edison Paquibot.
Ang had committed to take care of all of the family’s needs, including shouldering the education of Mr. Paquibot’s four-year-old daughter.
“Following the accident, I was able to speak directly to the wife. It’s very painful to suddenly lose a loved one. I promised her that I would take care of them, especially their child’s education until she graduates from college. It will be as if they still have family supporting them,” Ang vowed. Apart from the financial assistance for their monthly needs and providing for the education of the child, Ang also said the company would be providing the wife with livelihood support.
The victims received their cash assistance recently and are thankful for the early Christmas gift.
“We provided for more than the needs of those that were injured. The assistance covered continuing check-ups or therapy, replacement or repair of vehicles, recovering lost income, and more. While it’s very fortunate that most only had minor injuries, we will still give them more, to make sure they will have everything they need to resume their lives and livelihoods,” Ang related.
One of the victims who used to work as a chef in a Makati restaurant cried tears of joy upon receiving the amount, saying “Lubos po akong nagpapasalamat sa tulong nyo, Mr. Ang. Kung gaano ako naiyak noong aksidente, ngayon naman naiiyak ako sa saya sa naibigay mo pong tulong. Maraming salamat po talaga sir.”