Heroes in MRT-3 freak accident cited for kindness, concern for others

Charleanne Jandic poses with Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo after getting her Kabayan Bayani Award on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. (Photo by DEXTER CABALZA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Published: 6:44 p.m., Nov. 19, 2017 | Updated: 10:37 p.m., Nov. 19, 2017

As a boy, PO2 Danilo Agustin Jr. wanted to be a policeman, inspired by movies about lawmen risking their lives to save someone else’s.

On. Nov. 14, Agustin did just that, coming to the aid of a woman who lost her right arm in a freak accident at the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) Ayala Station in Makati.

READ: Woman loses right arm in accident at MRT-3 Ayala station

Agustin, a registered nurse before he joined the Philippine National Police (PNP), worked with Charleanne Jandic, a medical intern at Chinese General Hospital, to give first aid to Angeline Fernando, a 24-year-old software engineer who fell onto the railroad tracks.

Fernando had just gotten off the train when she felt dizzy and fell into the gap between the second and third train cars.

Jandic, a copassenger, heard the commotion and rushed to her aid.

PO2 Danilo Augustin Jr. worked as a registered nurse before joining the PNP.

Modern-day heroes

On Sunday, Agustin and Jandic were feted for their heroic deeds when they received the Kabayan Bayani Award from the Kabayan partylist group.

Both got cash incentives along with plaques which cited them for their kindness and concern for other people.

Jandic, who came to the award ceremony straight from the hospital after finishing her shift, said it felt weird.

Still, she said she felt fulfilled after learning that Fernando’s arm reattachment surgery went well.

READ: Severed arm of woman in MRT-3 accident reconnected

Asked what had changed in her life after the incident, Jandic replied: “I am still attending to my patients.”

She finds it amusing that many patients and work mates now ask to have their picture taken with her.

Chief Supt Romulo Sapitula, Eastern Police District director, said the EPD would also give citations to Agustin and another policeman, PO1 Ramil Almano, for helping Fernando.

“I am very proud of our EPD officers. They could have said that this was not [a peace and order situation], but Agustin stood up and helped out. And he was there all throughout,” Sapitula said.

The two officers from the EPD District Safety Battalion were on duty at that time as part of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations security team on the northbound platform of the MRT Ayala station when the incident happened.

Lifesavers at work

Sapitula said Agustin introduced himself as a registered nurse to Jandic.

Agustin, he added, helped place a torniquet on the arm of Fernando to prevent further blood loss, while Almano asked the MRT-3 management to look for a stretcher.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Agustin said he earned his nursing degree at Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City.

He worked as nurse for two years in a Marikina hospital before joining the police force in 2011 despite his father’s objection. /atm /pdi