When a Life is at Stake and Help is Nowhere to be Found

*Warning, some of the photos depict blood.  Viewer discretion is advised.*

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon.  Sinulog festival is tomorrow and most of Cebu is in a festive mood.     But that quiet Saturday afternoon I was hoping for did not go as I was expecting.

The Local Government decided to have cellular service suspended for the next two days due to bomb threat for Sinulog.  When the news came out, I initially thought that was stupid.  Why would the government do that when there are other emergencies that can happen?

So while at home, watching a movie, I heard a commotion outside.  I heard people shouting and though, are they having a party already outside?  Turns out, that commotion escalated to screaming and wailing that I realized I have to check outside and see what's going on.  I opened the door and  I saw the guard and several men bringing in a man inside the compound all covered in blood.  The women were screaming and panicking.  I rushed back inside and called Gabo.  He told me to stay inside while he check out what is happening.

A man was stabbed outside.  He was bleeding and Gabo went back in to call 911.  He passed me the phone and when I heard the operator, the line was cut off.  I called again and the operator are busy.  When I finally got through, I called for an ambulance, but the operator told me that they will call me back once they have one.  What?  I mean this is an emergency and the man could be dying and you will call me back if they have an ambulance?

Crime Scene

Gabo grabbed the car keys and headed out.  I hung up telling them that we will just rush him to the hospital.  Bad idea perhaps, but a man's life is at stake.

I grabbed my bag and had the men bring in the guy on the back of my car.  The victim's staff rode with us.  I never thought of telling her to keep a pressure on his wound but we drove madly into the nearest hospital in the city.  When we got there, we were screaming for emergency responder to help us immediately.  I realize, I don't even know his name or how to contact his loved ones.  There's no cellular service.  His staff who was with me was shaking so I asked her if she knows the number of their residence.  Thankfully, she has the number written on her hand and we called his wife using the hospital's line.  I couldn't give her my cell number because it would be useless for her to call me when we don't even have cell reception.

The Victim

Emergency Room

I do not know if the man survived.  We watched the nurses, doctors and staff working on him.   I was praying that the Lord will save him.  We decided to leave once his relatives arrived.  When we got home, we didn't see any police nor did we see anyone investigating the crime.  We parked the car and started cleaning up the blood in the car.  We heard the neighbors talking and they said the police came and had apprehended the suspect.

What happened today made me realize that wrong choices can cost people lives.  The man got stabbed by a disgruntled employee.  The local government made a choice and failed us by making the wrong decision in shutting down cellular services that could've helped us with contacting people in case of emergencies like this.  Our 911 is ineffective where in there should be first responders ready especially the city being on high alert for the festival.  The neighbors decided they didn't want to get involved and were just looking around the whole time.

Perhaps this should be a lesson for all of us.  When a life is at stake, we need to learn to make decisions whether we do something to help or not.  I do not know why God allowed this to happen.  Funny enough, when I was upset about the government shutting down the cell service, I was thinking of emergencies and what will happen if there's one.