On June 21, a Tuesday, the family and friends of journalist Chit Estella-Simbulan will mark the 40th day of her death in a car accident on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon city last month’s Friday, the 13th.
At 6:30 a.m, there will be a “Run for Road Safety” to be led by running priest Fr. Robert Reyes starting at the College of Mass Communication, where Chit was a member of the faculty. The run will take the route of University Avenue, then Commonwealth towards the site of the accident, in front of the Ayala Techno Hub, which Fr. Reyes will bless. The participants will be escorted by MMDA motorcycle units and traffic will be rerouted briefly for the activity.
(We will never be this complete anymore.Photo is the last of VERA Files trustees together. From left: Booma Cruz, Chit Estella, Ellen Tordesillas, Yvonne Chua, Luz Rimban, Jenny Santillan-Santiago.
(This was taken during the award ceremonies of the 2010 Ninoy and Cory Aquino Fellowship Award for Journalism to Yvonne last Aug. 10,2010 at the Manila Peninsula.)
Everybody concerned of safety in our roads are invited to join.
At 3 p.m. there will be a mass at San Agustin church in Intramuros, Manila. After the mass, at 4 p.m., Chit’s ashes will be interred at the San Agustin columbarium crypt.
Reception will follow at the San Agustin church center gardens.
Why do we hold a memorial on the 40th day after one’s death? Religious articles said Jesus ascended to Heaven on the 40th day after his resurrection. It is believed that a soul’s arrival to God is celebrated on the 40th day after the person’s death.
Chit’s death was so sudden that it took quite a while for many of us, whose lives she touched, to accept the reality that she is gone. But it seems that Chit, unwittingly (this is Chit’s favorite word that earned her a libel suit from former President Joseph Estrada) had prepared for it.
Chit’s husband, Roland Simbulan, a professor at UP Manila, said the San Agustin columbarium was his wife’s choice. Last Christmas holidays, they decided to visit the former walled city of Intramuros where the centuries- old San Agustin church is. They went to the museum and there, they learned for the first time that there was a columbarium.
Roland said he and Chit had been talking about the inevitable matter of death and they had agreed that when their time comes, they would want to be cremated. Chit was not so keen on columbariums near their place in Quezon City.
Roland said, immediately, Chit liked the San Agustin church columbarium. She said, “Dito na tayo.”They even got an application form. Five months after, Roland filled up the application form for Chit’s use.
Roland issued again an appeal to those who have witnessed the vehicular crash that killed Chit to contact them. They may call the family’s lawyer Arno Sanidad (9200040, 4353181, 09189055992) or Jen Estella (09088631346, 2277035, 9325322).
Chit was riding an Abu Abbey taxi on her way to Ayala Techno Hub on Commonwealth Avenue from her Tandang Sora home for a reunion dinner with some high school friends. Initial accounts said the taxi was sideswept by Nova bus, then hit by the a Universal Guiding Star bus on the rear.
Chit was declared dead on arrival in a nearby hospital.
Chit’s death has compelled the Metro Manila Development Authority, the agency in charge of traffic management in the metropolis, to strictly enforce its 60-kilometer-per hour speed in the 18-lane Commonwealth Avenue, which has been dubbed as a “killer highway” because of the high number of vehicular accidents on that road.
Concerned citizens are also looking at the other causes of insanity on the road such as responsibility or the lack of it by bus operators, the lack of discipline of drivers, the unsafe road designs, and the lack of efficient road management.
Making those responsible for the death of Chit accountable is not just a quest for justice for her. It’s a crusade to make our roads safe so that no one’s life would be lost in such a senseless manner any more.
The celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal on June 19 becomes more meaningful because the public will be able to view the original manuscripts of his famous novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, at the National Library, courtesy of the German conservators who have meticulously restored the national hero’s works.