Six days after Ateneo grade four student Julian Carlo Miguel “Amiel” Alcantara died in an accident, the administration released specific measures to respond to any lapses in campus safety. This action aimed to respond to public clamor, especially those coming from parents, for more safety measures to be put in place on campus.
Ateneo Detachment Commander Avelino Guzilan said some vehicular accidents for the past years involved, for example, the following: a car overturning because of speeding, and tricycle riders falling off the back of tricycles because the passengers were not holding on enough. One incident he also recalled was a Miriam College student being hit by a car while crossing the pedestrian lane. The student sustained minor injuries.
University Physical Plant Administrator Leoncio Miralao also recounted an accident on a boy who ran into the car in Xavier Hall, but said there was no record of the event, because, as he said, “frankly, there were not many [accidents].”
Following these previous accidents was tighter implementation of existing security measures, which, however, was not as tight or urgent as the measures implemented now. “Yan [Amiel’s accident] ‘yung pinakamabigat na nangyari,” Miralao said.
On one hand, the measures following Amiel’s death are commendable because they exhibit accountability and responsibility for the Ateneo’s part. The accident happened inside campus grounds. In a way, the University is responsible, not for the accident, but for the circumstances that allowed the accident to happen.
The measures also reflect how the Ateneo is open to the pleas of the community. The multi-stakeholder committee formed to review the community’s suggestions for even tighter and stricter safety measures are telling of how the Ateneo responds to a crisis: not by washing its hands clean of any responsibility (which was very easy to do in this case) but by uniting with the community in analyzing, and thinking of solutions to a problem.
On the other hand, in interviews gathered by The GUIDON, many parents still had a lot of complaints, and suggestions to further improve the traffic system. These parents see the accident as a result of flaws in the system. The administration, through the multi-stakeholder committee it has organized, needs to be aware and to act upon the dissent still present among these parents, whose comments and suggestions may be valid and applicable for the community’s safety.
Many lessons can be learned from Amiel’s tragedy, and while Ateneo’s response to the accident has been quick, urgent, and organized, more still needs to be done to ensure that this will not happen again.
