Raissa Laurel off and running for seat in city council

SHE LOST both legs in a grenade explosion that rocked the last day of her bar exams in Manila some five years ago, but today, Raissa Laurel is off and running—for a councilor’s post in San Juan City.

The explosion that nearly killed her also made clear her “purpose in life,” said the 28-year-old law graduate.

“I always believe everything has a purpose. I could have passed on since I only had a

20-percent chance of survival (in the incident), but (the blast) made clear the path I would take,” Laurel told the Inquirer in an interview Tuesday.

If anything, she added, the incident prepared her for “a greater calling.”

Laurel is among the 12 candidates running for councilor in May 2016, under San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez’s Partido Magdiwang.

Being offered a slot in the party by Gomez and her son, Sen. JV Ejercito, came as a shock but Laurel also saw it as an “opportunity” to help those in need.

Answered prayer

“It’s my way of giving back. Many (people) helped me when I was in need. Now I also want to help others,” she said, adding that she had been figuring out her life’s purpose the past five years.

“I guess this is the answer to my prayers,” she said of her foray in local politics.

In September 2010, Laurel was among the close to 50 people injured when a member of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity hurled a grenade at the students welcoming their colleagues in the traditional salubong (welcome meet) at the end of the bar examinations held on four Sundays.

Laurel’s injuries were so severe that her legs had to be amputated. Since then she has been using prosthetic legs for mobility.

For a year until she learned to walk again using prosthetics, the then law student at San Sebastian College had to put on hold her dream of becoming a lawyer.

She later continued her law studies at Philippine Christian University where she graduated in April this year. In next month’s bar exams, Laurel comes a step closer to fulfilling her dream as she takes on “the exam of my life.”

The Court of Appeals has meanwhile green-lighted the justice department’s move to prosecute the lone suspect in the incident, Anthony Nepomuceno, for multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder for his role in the 2010 blast.

Critics might say that Laurel’s inclusion in Gomez’s city council slate owed much to her popularity as a blast victim, but the law graduate pointed out that she has been active in sociocivic work, being a member of the Lions Clubs International’s youth arm, Leo, which conducts leadership training and outreach programs.

“I have the heart to serve. Since I was a kid, I have been exposed to sociocivic activities,” she said, adding that her parents introduced her and her brother to the program.

RARING TO GO Five years after losing her legs to a grenade blast after the bar exams, law graduate Raissa Laurel is back on her feet and ready to move on. The 28-year-old is among the 12 candidates for councilor who are running under San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez’s Partido Magdiwang. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Since the blast, she had been invited to countless speaking engagements all over the country as a motivational speaker, “someone who didn’t give up her dream,” Laurel said.

Seniors, PWDs

Should she win her bid to become one of San Juan’s councilors, Laurel said that she would champion the rights of women, senior citizens, the youth and persons with disability (PWD).

Part of her program is providing psychosocial support to the youth to guide them in their life decisions and to eliminate bullying in schools.

She also hopes to provide more accessibility to PWDs in San Juan based on her experience in Geneva where she had her two-month World Health Organization internship early this year.

The distant relative of former President Jose Laurel is also into boxing to improve her balance and as a “safety precaution.”

Being shoved in a crowd, especially on the campaign trail, and losing one’s balance is an inevitability she is trying to avoid, she said.

Should she lose her election bid, she will still continue to provide inspirational messages to “people who may have lost hope in life,” said Laurel, who is married to Reiner Subijano.