Labing-anim na taon si KC nang nangyari ang trahedya na nasunog ang kanilang bahay sa Dasmariñas Village, tirahan ng mga mayayaman, noong Dec. 16, 2004. Huli na nag malaman nina Gina na nandoon pala si KC sa loob ng bahay at hindi na nakalabas.
Matagal bago naka-recover ang pamilyang De Venecia sa trahedya lalo pa si Gina. Sa aming pagtipon-tipon noong isang linggo sa kanilang bagong bahay, sinabi ni Gina na nakatulong ng malaki ang mga kasamahan niya sa “INA” (Inang naulila sa anak), ang grupo ng kanyang itinatag sa kanyang pag-uusap sa ibang ina na nawalan rin ng anak.
Sa halip na mamumukmuk at magpakalunod sa hinagpis, ginawa ni Gina ay nakipag-hawakan ng kamay sa kapwang nagdurusang ina at magtulungan. Madali nahilom ang kanilang mga sugat at marami sa kanila ngayon ay mas malakas dahil sa trahedya.
Pagkatapos ng kamatayan ni KC, dumaan ulit ang mga De Venecia sa bagyo pampulitikal ng ibinulgar ni Joey de Venecia, anak ni Joe DV sa unang asawa, ang tungkol sa anomalya sa NBN/ZTE . Tinanggal si Joe DV bilang speaker.
Noong nakaraang eleksyun tumakbo at nanalo si Gina bilang kinatawan ng 4th district of Pangasinan.Vice chairman siya ngayon ng Committee on Foreign Affairs at Committee on Social Services.
Tamang- tama sa kanya itong dalawang committee. Ang kanyang pangunahing adviser ay si Joe DV na isa sa batikan sa foreign relations. Ang social services naman parang second nature na kay Gina.
Noon pa man, hanga ako sa galing ni Gina sa organisasyun. Sabi ko nga nakuha niya siguro ito dahil lumaki siya sa movie production na talagang kailangan ang organisasyun. Ang ama ni Gina ay si Doc Perez , ang ama ng Sampaguita Pictures.
May mga nagsasabi na may pagka-plastic si Gina. Sa Kongreso, nakiki-pag beso-beso siya kay Gloria Arroyo. Ang tawag nga namin kay Gina ay “Ms Congeniality” dahil wala siyang inaaway. Matindi lang talaga ang ginawa sa kanila ni Gloria Arroyo na napilitan si Gina noon magsalita. Pero kahit na nagkwento siya, hindi siya nagmura.
Sabi ni Gina,kahit ano man ang sama ng loob niya sa ginawa sa kanila ni Arroyo, ang realidad ay miyembro siya ng Kongreso ngayon. Sabi niya, hindi siya magkikimkim ng sama ng loob dahil siya ang lugi kapag ganun.
Noong isang buwan kasama si Gina sa delegasyun ng mga congressman na pumunta sa Cambodia para sa International Conference of Asian Political Parties. Sabi niya, sa pag-uusap nila ni Prime Minister Hun Sen, hanga siya kung paano bumabangon ang Cambodia mula sa labi ng giyera para magiging mahalagang miyembro ng global community.
Ang kuwento ng Cambodia ay istorya ng pagbangon mula sa trahedya at naging mas matatag. Sa personal na antas, yun din ang istorya ni Gina. Magandang leksyun sa atin lahat.
we can also hope that the tragedy will result in mandatory requirements of early smoke and fire alarms to be installed in dwellings..they truly save lives…
vic,
and also fire escapes. a lot of buildings don’t have them while homes usually have grilled windows. window grills should be made to allow even partial openings for emergencies.
I imagine the pain that Gina de Venecia had to go through. I also imagine she had to wrestle with guilt feelings.
Channeling her pain into something constructive such as helping other mothers who lost a child is admirable.
@ 2 while we’re at it, just replaced my fire extinguisher and add another for the basement. never had to use one for than more 35 years, but i will be glad that they are there when it’s time to need them…yes grilled windows can be be had with opening access from the inside…we are glad somehow that fire personnel really check our dwellings for functioning fire prevention compliance and make sure that they are enforced…in the end it is for our safety.
This exchange from my Facebook wall might be interesting to some of you:
John Christian Balingit : Di ko nasubaybayan istorya ng nasabing insidente. Bakit naiwang mag-isa ung anak nila. Bakit di nila sinama kung saan man sila nagpunta.
Cynthia Palanca: Puro grills ang house nila tapos naka padlock din ang emergency exit. The fire started in the stairs Christmas lights going to a walled entrance to the second floor the only exit point. Unang lumabas ang mga kasambahay naiwan si KC sa room nya nagkulong sya sa bathroom fill nya ng water ang bathtub at nag text pa sa Ate ng help. But she lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation. Sad may she rest in peace.
John Christian Balingit: Kung sa stairs nag-umpisa ang fire, there was really no way for her to descend. And the padlocked grills? On the 2nd floor? For security? That’s the problem. When people think of security, they usually forget about safety.
Our heartfelt condolences to the de Venecia family for the tragic loss/death of their daughter, KC.
May she rest in eternal peace.
Dapat talaga lahat ng bahay ay may smoke alarm at kung may grills, dapat may releases (pwedeng buksan anytime). Everyone in the household should know how to open the releases otherwise wala ding kwenta.
One thing though, the smoke alarms are so sensitive, Magprito ka lang ng isda at umusok, ngangawa na yung alarm. Too irritating sometimes. But is is a necessary gadget.
One thing though, the smoke alarms are so sensitive, Magprito ka lang ng isda at umusok, ngangawa na yung alarm. Too irritating sometimes. But is is a necessary gadget
parasabayan,
some of the latest alarms with dual sensors, (for slow and fast burning) have temporary timed off switches when its started to sense kitchens preparation smoke or heat.. our dwellings are of course all sealed during winter and only exhaust fans driving the indoor air out..so smoke and fire alarms and Carbon Monoxide detector (this could be trigger by spaying air freshener too) sometimes give out false alarms, but it’s better to always pay attention to them…just read about that Tragedy somewhere in the southern Philippines about the 15 victims of Fire, some of them recent graduates of nursing to take their board exams…this tragedy should not have happened…
if I remember right..the fire started sa isang Xmas tree na nasa hagdanan thus she was not able to use the stairs to go down and the windows of their house were all padlocked against burglars…ang hirap ng mga mayayaman…na kukulong sa kanilang mga bahay sa takot sa magnanakaw…ironical hindi ba? hindi lahat pero may mga politicos na nagnanakaw sa ating government…ito bas ang sinasabi na what goes around comes around?
magkasunod lang sila namatay ni FPJ…
“just read about that Tragedy somewhere in the southern Philippines about the 15 victims of Fire, some of them recent graduates of nursing to take their board exams” – vic
Vic, I think this happened in Northern Pinas, Cagayan Valley.
“I imagine the pain that Gina de Venecia had to go through” – becky
There’s always that eerie feeling when parents are the ones to bury their children. Should always be the other way around…