Care less

I witness an accident last night, on my way home from the IRRI fiesta. A motorbike and a bicycle collided somewhere in Bagong Kalsada (in between Shangrila Village and Blue Palm Resort). Tricycles are not moving…there’s a blinking car in front and a lot of people gathered around. We were 3 tricycles and 1 car away from the site, and I’m hearing our tricycle driver from his point of view there’s an accident ahead. His saying he’s seeing a motorbike lying on the street with a man down on the road. I’m not supposed to go out and check but it’s taking really a lot of time and it seems that nobody is moving. So I stepped out of our tricycle and checked out what’s happening. I asked people gathered there why aren’t we helping him? He’s still breathing and we should rush him now to the hospital. But everybody’s paralyzed, just waiting. Then I heard the closest tricycle driver reasoned I don’t have gas anymore. I just went back to my tricycle when I saw the Barangay tanod asked in his radio for assistance. I actually returned to the wrong tricycle and I just realized that when the real passenger asked me to move out. Then when I went back to the right tricycle I kinda ask in the air “how come we don’t have 911 here?” So we left the site with everything just still there, waiting, to think that the man needs immediate attention. Then this morning I learned that the man died. I kinda think I should have cared more, I should have asked our tricycle to bring him to the hospital, I can even go with them if they need somebody to accompany them. I just realized I don’t care enough. Probably if he's somebody I know I would pick him up myself or ask everybody to pick him up and bring him immediately to the hospital but because I don’t know him, my attempt to ask what’s happening is already enough. Too sad!!!!

Ako, 14 December 2009