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DSWD to assist PWD mauled by fellow bus passengers on EDSA

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Friday said it is searching for the person with disability who was mauled by fellow bus passengers on EDSA, to extend assistance to him and give him intervention. 'Nakikipag-ugnayan na tayo upang mahanap ang biktima at mabigyan ng kaukulang assistance," DSWD's Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) Director Edwin Morata said. (We are coordinating [with authorities] to find the victim and give the necessary assistance.) Aside from his physical injuries, the PWD also experienced trauma from the incident and needs assistance to process it, he added. "Maliban sa tinamo niyang injury, kakailanganin din ang assistance upang matulungan siyang iprocess ang trauma mula sa pangyayari,' Morata said. On June 9, a PWD reportedly bit passengers inside a Precious Grace Transport bus traveling on the EDSA busway. His fellow passengers then ganged up on him mauled him and allegedly tased him, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said. 'Binugbog, kinuyog 'yung isang kababayan natin na may kapansanan sa loob ng isang bus. Krimen 'yan,' said DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon in a press briefing. (A fellow Filipino with a disability was mauled inside a bus. That's a crime.) In the viral video, the PWD can be heard crying for help after some passengers tried to kick him out of the bus. The DSWD also condemned the incident and said it was inhumane. 'Walang anumang excuse ang ginawa nilang pambubugbog sa nakikita naman nilang person with disability at alam nilang nangangailangan ng unawa. Hindi makatao ang gawaing ganun. Hindi lang isa, tinadyakan, sinusuntok pagkatapos ay inelectrocute pa,' Morata said. (There is no excuse to the mauling against the person they saw who had a disability and needed understanding. What they did was inhumane. Not only did they step on him, they also punched him and electrocuted him.) PWDs are one of the most vulnerable groups in society and are under the stewardship of the State, he added. 'Government is exerting all efforts to ensure that the persons with disability sector is provided with the needed assistance to help protect their rights, welfare, and lead them to development. Violent actions against any member of the sector set us back in achieving our goal of giving them a chance to nation building,' Morata said. 'Hindi pwedeng palagpasin ang ganitong kalupitan, sa person with disability man or sa ibang sektor. Malinaw na abuso ang ginawa nila. Kung may impormasyon kayo ukol sa mga nanakit, ipagbigay alam po sa kapulisan, sa amin, or sa alinmang ahensiya ng gobyerno,' he added. (This kind of cruelty cannot be ignored, whether committed against a PWD or someone from another sector. It is clear that it was abuse. If you have any information about those who hurt him, please let the police, DSWD, or any government agency know.) The DOTr said that the bus driver and the conductor should be held responsible for the situation. Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) suspended their driver's license for 90 days. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board summoned Precious Grace to explain the incident. It also suspended 10 of its units for 30 days. A hearing on the matter has been set for June 25. However, the bus company's lawyer said that the driver and the conductor already took action on the incident. According to the testimony submitted by the driver to the LTO, a passenger reported to him that another passenger was biting people inside the bus. When they reached the Main Avenue station, they immediately reported the incident to the authorities. They sought the assistance of Coast Guard personnel to bring out the PWD passenger. But the authorities failed to do so. The PWD bit another person after the bus was already close to Buendia station, and the incident was reported to the authorities. The driver said that he even told the passengers to stop ganging up on the PWD, but nobody listened to him. 'To my mind, yung driver at saka konduktor, ginawa nila ang responsibilidad nila,' said Alex Verzosa, lawyer for Precious Grace Transport. (To my mind, the driver and conductor fulfilled their responsibilities.) —KG, GMA Integrated News