JOHN EZRA CABALO, DEAF STUDENT OF DLS-CSB SDEAS, DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL FOR DAYS AND FAILED TO FILE AN EXCUSE SLIP FOR HIS ABSENCE. Ezra was about to be declared AWOL when the school received a long letter from his distraught mother detailing the circumstance behind his prolonged leave. He broke a leg in an accident and the attending physician advised him to refrain from walking and lifting heavy objects for the next four weeks.
On the evening of January 28, Ezra fell down from the air-conditioned Green Star bus he was riding to the streets when the bus suddenly sped off just as he was alighting at a designated stop in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City. Nobody helped him. Prior to the accident, the bus conductor refused to give Ezra the fare discount accorded to him by law (Republic Act 9442 Privileges and Incentives for Disabled Persons). He was instead charged the full fare and after realizing that Ezra could not hear, the conductor and the driver loudly made fun of him for the rest of the journey.
Despite the pain from his injured leg, Ezra managed to get to the market stall where his parents earn their keep as vendors. His family brought him to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa where he was diagnosed with a strained ligament on his right knee. From the hospital, they proceeded to file a formal complaint with the police that same evening. Ezra and his family went back to the hospital for X-ray and the attending physician told them that the X-ray results showed that Ezra sustained a fractured leg bone. Ezra was told not to carry heavy objects so the injured bone would heal faster. Ezra and his relatives proceeded to the National Orthopedic Center in Quezon City for a second opinion. The attending doctor at the Center found a crack instead on Ezra’s leg and expressed dismay that the physician at the previous hospital did not bother to put the injured leg in a cast, as is usually done with broken bones.
Ezra is on his way to recovery. Initially, he was advised that he can only move around on a wheelchair. Though tough on the family’s finances, they hired a van at Php 250/one-way trip to bring Ezra to school. Ezra is very eager not to miss classes since excess absences could affect his standing as a 100% scholar at DLS-CSB SDEAS. Strong-willed and determined to keep his scholarship, Ezra now limps his way from class to class.
The management of the offending bus company has yet to respond to the complaint lodged by Ezra’s family with the police. Ezra was able to write down the bus plate number (DLK-726) but the bus company allegedly denies that the plate number belongs to their bus. Two teachers who befriended Ezra after witnessing the incident with the bus conductor refused to serve as eyewitness to the case.
UPDATE: Upon checking with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) vehicle registration verification facility via text messaging (TXT 2600 for all networks), plate number DLK-726 is not a registered vehicle.
