SECURITY guards at Far Eastern University check the bags of students at the gate after a nursing graduate and several others attacked a University of Santo Tomas student on the school grounds last week. EDWIN BELLOSILLO
MANILA, Philippines–A frustrated murder case was filed Monday at the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office against the suspects in Tuesday’s stabbing incident at the Far Eastern University campus in Sampaloc.
Senior Police Officer 3 Genesis Aliling and Police Officer 2 Aaron Cortez of the Manila Police District Station 4 filed the case against Ma. Christine Acosta, 20, nursing student at FEU, and five other unidentified suspects for the stabbing of Joanne Lourdes Reyes, 20, information technology student of University of Santo Tomas.
Also on Monday, the victim’s mother went to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to thank him for his directive to MPD Alejandro Gutierrez and station 4 commander Superintendent James Afalla to take immediate action on the case.
Arlene Concepcion, 45, of Imus, Cavite, also sought the mayor’s help in making the FEU administration accountable for its lapses.
“I don’t want this to happen again to other students that’s why I’m pointing out the lapses. Why is there a deadly weapon inside the campus?” she said.
Concepcion rued that the line of questioning of FEU officials who visited Reyes seemed to be blaming her daughter for getting stabbed.
She said the FEU officials have offered to shoulder the hospital bills but she had not accepted it yet, “We cannot feel their sincerity.”
Lim said that should there be complications in Reyes’ wounds, she could get free medicine and medical services at the city government’s hospitals.
Lim also assigned lawyer Cathy Timaliuan of the City Legal Office to assist Concepcion in following up the case.
Lim said he was surprised and found it unusual that female students would commit such a crime inside school grounds.
Police investigation showed that Reyes was invited by Rocel Armine de Mesa, a friend who studies at FEU, to watch the awarding of a film festival.
While at the hallway of the science building, a group of women approached them, sprayed them with what was described as tear gas, then repeatedly stabbed Reyes, who was wearing a UST shirt.
Reyes is now in stable condition and recuperating at Chinese General Hospital.
Aliling said police could not yet determine whether Acosta’s companions were also FEU students since they were in civilian clothes.
He said police are set to interview more witnesses to identify the other perpetrators.
Rumors that the stabbing was motivated by a sorority war or a love triangle have cropped up but Reyes told police she could not think of a reason behind the attack.
Afalla said police filed a frustrated murder case because there was treachery involved as most of the victim’s stab wounds were in the back.