LEGAZPI CITY: A day after the road crash which took the lives of two public school teachers on Friday afternoon, the Department of Education (DepEd) in Bicol expressed sadness and vowed to facilitate the grant and release of financial assistance to the bereaved family of the victims.

In an official statement released on Saturday evening by the Department of Education Sorsogon division, it said that the precious lives of its fellow educators were cut short in a tragic vehicular accident yesterday.

“DepEd Schools Division of Sorsogon Family deeply mourns the demise of our fellow educators whose lives were cut short in a sudden and tragic vehicular accident in the afternoon of January 27, 2023,” the statement released by DepEd regional office said.

“They could have already gone to the comfort of their home and family when classes were suspended at noon that day, but chose to remain and served in preparing the classrooms and other necessities for the National Achievement Test this Monday not knowing that misfortune lurks in their way,” the statement said.

“In these trying times and circumstances, let us extend our help and comfort to our fellow public servants in the department. Their resolve exhibits their commitment and dedication to public service,” the DepEd Sorsogon statement said.

According to DepEd Sorsogon Schools Division Office, they will facilitate the grant and release of financial assistance to the bereaved family of the victims per Department Order 25, Series of 2008.

Likewise, the applicable rehabilitation leave may also be granted to the teacher who has sustained physical injuries requiring a considerable period of recuperation, it said.

Two of the six casualties in a tragic road crash were public school teachers. They were Maribel Lomerio Pardillo, 45, a resident of Barangay Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon, and Karen Jamisola Maquiñana, 45, public school teacher and a resident of Barangay Talisay, Sorsogon City.

The victims were passengers of the public utility jeepney that collided with an incoming van heading to Legazpi City.