Dr. Monique Bantique Abad was having breakfast in their family store near the Carmen Public Transport Terminal in Davao del Norte when a rider got thrown off his motorcycle after it was hit by another motorcycle and was knocked unconscious. ,

A crowd of kibitzers immediately formed around the victim, with no one daring to lift a finger to help.

The 27-year-old physician, who was in rugged jeans and a shirt, saw the incident and, without saying a word, made a dash to the accident site. 

Onlookers tried to stop her from helping the victim, prompting her to assert, “Doctor ‘ko!” before telling the crowd to step back and give her space.

Abad then started to administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the man, intermittently stopping to check his pulse. She continued performing chest compressions on the victim until responders from the Carmen Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office arrived and took over.

Abad stayed on the scene until the victim started breathing again and was wheeled to a waiting ambulance that took him to a hospital, where he died from his injuries a few days later.

“Wala na nagkinahanglan nga maghunahuna gud, kung tabangan ba or dili, murag instinct na sya (There is no need to think about whether to help or not; it seems it was just an instinct).

“Para sa akoa normal lang naman to akong gibuhat; nganong daghang na amaze? (For  me, what I did was normal; why were some amazed?),”  she said as she dismissed the heroine tag that netizens gave her..

She noted that only a few people would offer help  during cases of vehicular accidents as the majority would cling to the notion that the patient should be left untouched. She also noted that many people believe that only certified responderss should aid road crash victims.

“Paabot lang sila walay gibuhat hangtod pag-abot sa hospital, usually DOA na, dead on arrival na. So wala nay nag-bridge nga help (They would just wait doing nothing, so when the patient reached the  hospital, he’s usually DOA, dead on arrival. So there was no attempt at bridging help),” she pointed out.

“Ginatawag nako ang  ubang medical professional doctor nurses ug uban pa na kung maka engkwentro mo ug ingon ato nga  panghitabo, unta kamo motabang pud unta sa pacyente aron masumpayan ang ilang kinabuhi (I am calling on other medical professionals: doctors and nurses and others, when in situations such as that, you would be of help to the patient to lengthen their life),” she said.

No helmet

Carmen MDRRMO head Olympio G. Bagnol confirmed the death of the accident victim while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Abad said the victim was not wearing a helmet when the accident happened.

“Si tatay, wala man gud pud to siya nag-helmet nag drive (He was not wearing a helmet,” she said referring to the victim.

Under Republic Act 10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act, riders and pillion passengers who travel on any form of roads or highways, whether it is a short trip or long, must wear a standard protective helmet. 

The law was named after the fate of the late basketball legend, who collapsed while playing in a pickup game. No one among his companions knew how to administer CPR. (JMDA/PIA Davao del Norte)