More about the victims of the Jan. 25 bombing by Muslims in Manila

When Muslim jihadists planted a bomb on a bus in Manila in the Philippines, and then hopped off , after which they or their accomplices detonated the bomb by mobile phone, on 25 January 2011, they ended five lives - most of them young  - and crippled 13 others.

By consulting the Philippine Daily Inquirer online, I learned much more about these people than the Australian mass media - content merely to state '4 (5) dead, 13 wounded' - would ever bother to tell me.

Here are the names of four of the murdered - I could not discover the name of the fifth.

Shirley Kristel Ausena, 25; Johansson Reye, 24 (Kristel's boyfriend); Irish Teniola, 22; Mariano Magayaw Salustiano (57).

Catholic, and Orthodox and High Anglican readers of this blog may, perhaps, choose to light a candle in their memory.  May they rest in peace.  May their families be comforted.  May those who murdered them be brought to justice; and may the murderous Jihad against the non-Muslims of the Philippines, be utterly defeated.  

Here are the names of the wounded.

Mary Grace Buen Borondia, 29; Anabel Gozon, 40; Antonio Lino, 41; Jeffrey Victoriano, 27, of Taguig City (he suffered severe leg injuries, possibly crippling him for life; he is his family's sole breadwinner); Roy Saguit Rivera, 40; Fe An Padilla Sy, 25; Fleur An Padilla Sy, 48; Aiza Hutalle Peralsta, 26; Virgilio Aquino Reyes, 76; Paul Richard Obial Reyes, 41; Jennifer Valdez Andoque, 19; Veronica Sanchez Gando, 24; Gloria Aquino Reyes, 71.

May they be swiftly healed.

Our condolences to the families of all Filipino non-Muslims who have suffered in this and the many other Jihad raids  that have taken place within the Philippines in the past forty or fifty years.

Here are selected portions of the three articles from the Philippine Daily Inquirer that gave me the names of the victims, and more, bringing home the fact that these were people like us, non-Muslims like us, going about their lives in their familiar city.  And let us never forget that what happened on the streets of Manila, has happened there before, and happened on the streets of London in 2005, and could happen on the streets of Sydney, or of any other city in the non-Muslim world.  And let us never forget the source of these evil acts, the jihad ideology of Islam.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110126-316610/EDSA-bus-bombing-4-dead

'EDSA bus bombing: 4 dead'

'Bomb under seat of bus driven by Maximo Peligro'

'...The bomb placed under the seat in the middle of a passenger bus driven by a man ironically named Maximo Peligro went off just before 2 pm on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (i.e. 'Appearance of the Saints' - CM), or EDSA, near the north gate of the upscale Forbes Park subdivision in Makati City.  The blast blew a huge hole in the right side of the northbound Newman Goldliner..

'Makati Mayor Junjun Binay said the explosion was so powerful that it punched a hole in a nearby concrete fence...

'The explosion shattered the windows of the air-conditioned bus...Police said the sixth row on the right side of the bus sustained massive damage...

'The President said terrorists were behind the explosion that ripped through the bus.  At a news briefing, Mr Aquino said he received intelligence reports last year that "a Muslim secessionist group" was planning a "bombing" but did not have the resources to mount it.  Wondering how the group was able to mount the attack, the President ordered a probe of the bombing...

'Mr Aquino expressed his sympathies to the families of those who died and who were wounded in the blast.

'When he arrived at the site 10 minutes after the explosion, Binay [the Mayor] said he saw blood and severed body parts on the bus.  He said he also saw a severely injured man through the big hole.

'Two of the victims were killed on the spot.  The two others [now three - CM] died in the hospital, police said.

'Both legs of a female fatality...were cut off from the thighs, according to a survivor.  "She must be at least 18 years old", said Susanna Flores, among the seven passengers brought to Ospital ng Makati.  She said the other fatality, Johannsson de Leon Reyes, of Plaridel, Bulacan, was covered in blood, and "his left leg was at a funny angle, as if it had been broken off."...

'Mary Grace Buen Borondia, 29, of Maybunga, Pasig City, was first brought to Ospital ng Makati, but was later transferred to Makati Medical Center.  Other casualties brought to Ospital ng Makati were identified as Anabel Gozon, 40, of Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal; ANtonio Lino, 41, of San Mateo, Rizal; Jeffrey Victoriano, 27, of Taguig City; and Irish Teniola, 22 (she later died - CM).  Ten of the victims were taken to St Luke's Medical Center at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.  They were: Roy Saguit Rivera, 40; Fe An Padilla Sy, 25; Fleur An Padilla Sy, 48; Aiza Hutalle Peralta, 26; Virgilio Aquino Reyes, 67; Paul Richard Obial Reyes, 41; Jennifer Valdez Andoque, 19; Veronica Sanchez Gando, 24; and Gloria Aquino Reyes, 71.

'An investigation report issued by the Makati police Tuesday night said the fatalities were Johansson De Leon Reyes, who died on the spot; Mariano Magayaw Salustiano, 57; Shirley Kristel Hausena Andes; a female wearing a silver necklace marked "Krish"; and an  unidentified man brought to St Luke's who died while being treated...

'A doctor said those who survived the blast sustained minor injuries, mostly in the feet...

'Maximo Peligro and Michael Haralde, the driver and conductor of the bus, respectively, were taken into police custody for investigation.  At a Makati police station, Peligro said he smelled gunpowder right after the blast...Peligro, who was unharmed, said that the bus windshield was not damaged by the explosion.  He said he kicked it to enable him and the other passengers to get off the vehicle.

'He said two men, who acted strangely, quickly got off the bus just moments before the explosion. "They were moving from one seat to another although we had no idea there was an explosive aboard", Peligro said.  Haralde said the two men hopped on the bus in Baclaran, Paranaque City, took seats in the middle section, and got off on Evangelista Street in Makati...".

In the discussion of this incident by posters at Mr Spencer's jihadwatch site, two posters with first-hand experience of the Philippines and Manila stated that Baclaran and Makati have significant populations of Muslims.

Now, back to the Philippines Inquirer.

In this report from Laila B. Salaverria

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110127-316842/Aquino-promises-justice-financial-aid-for-victims

'Aquino promises justice, financial aid for victims - Gov't to pay medical, burial costs, scholarships'

we see the financial drain that jihad imposes on targeted societies.  And this paragraph gives us a glimpse of one of the survivors:

'At Ospital ng Makati, Delia Victoriano expressed fears that her son Jeff, a computer technician, would become an invalid because of severe leg wounds.  "We are praying that he will soon get well.  He is the only one supporting the family, since his father has no regular job", Victoriano said.'...

'Soliman shared stories of survivors she talked with, including wounded senior citizens who recently came back from the United States to retire in the Philippines.  She did not disclose their names to protect their privacy, but said they were in their seventies - a woman with minor leg wounds and a man who was hit by shrapnel in the leg and back".

And this report from Tina Santos and Nancy C Carvajal allows us to share the pain of three Filipino families shattered by Jihad.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110127-316837/Loves-dreams-shattered

'Loves, dreams shattered.  Fatalities supported families'.

'Sweethearts Shirley Kristel Ausena, 25, and Jhohansson Reyes, 24, left home on Tuesday morning with high hopes for their families and each other.  

'Their dreams of finding a better life were shattered by the explosion that ripped through a passenger bus in Makati City just before 2 pm.

'Kristel and Jhohansson were among the five people killed in the explosion...

'Like the sweethearts, the fifth fatality, Irish Teniola, 22, also supported [her family].  Irish had wanted to become a journalist, but decided against pursuing it because she wanted to earn immediately.  She applied at a call center to support her family, including her grandparents, her mother tearfully said.

'Relatives and friends of Irish described her as slim, fair-skinned, pretty, smart and generous.  

'The families of Kirstel and Jhohansson were not aware that they were meeting that day.  "We did not even know that they got back together", said Karmela, Kristel's younger sister...

'Kristel, who was fondly called 'Darling' by her family, was on her way to a job interview at a fine-dining restaurant in Mandaluyong City when tragedy struck.  Kristel's mother, Leonora, 47, said her daughter left their house in Barangay Rizal in Makata at around 10 am.  She said she was called in for a job interview and, afterwards, she was planning to proceed to a jobs fair in Magamall after.  She asked P100 for her fare", Leonora said.  She surmised that Kristel boarded the bus in the Ayala area, where she could have followed up another job application.  "She mentioned earlier that she had also applied in one of the companies in that area.  Maybe she went there to check her application's status", Leonora said in Filipino.  "I even wished her good luck before she left.  I told her to text me so I would know where she is". But Leonora never heard from her daughter again...

'Jhohansson, of Plaridel, Bulacan, left  his aunt's house in Guadalupe, Makati, where he was temporarily staying, shortly before 10 am on Tuesday, to attend the baptism of a former co-worker's child in Pasig City.

"We had no inkling that he was one of the victims because he said he was going to Pasig", said his aunt Christy de Leon.  She said she heard the news from a relative in Bulacan whom police authorities initially informed about the tragedy.  Reyes' mother Aile was inconsolable when she viewed her son's remains at a funeral parlor in Libertad, Pasay City, on Wednesday.  "He had grand dreams for his family, especially his mom", Christy said...

'A former cook n a restaurant, Jhohannson recently finished a culinary arts course offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.  "He was just waiting for his certification to be released in  February", his mother said, adding that her son was a good man...

'Christy said Jhohansson, the second in a brood of three, had really wanted to become a chef and to work abroad so he could support his mother and finance his 16 year old sister's college education...'

'Not regular bus rider'.

'Irish Teniola, also fondly called 'Ai-Ai', was not a regular bus rider, but that afternoon, she boarded the Newman Goldliner, which turned out to be her last ride, said her cousin, Floredil Persito, the last relative who saw her alive.

'The bus blew up not far from a Convergys office, where Irish had worked as call center agent.  "She was not really a bus rider, but she took that ride to go to Guadalupe and get a jeep ride to San Andres to get a pair of eye glasses which she could not use anymore", Persito said.  Persito and the rest of Teniola's family and relatives were at St Peter Funeral Homes in Quezon City to attend the wake for the victim...

'Persito said she and Irish had agreed the night before that they would get the eye glasses together and meet after the latter's shift at 1 pm on Tuesday.  Irish's mother, Imelda de Ocampo, said she was receiving text messages from her daughter at around 1.30 pm until before 2 pm and then the messages stopped coming...

'De Ocampo described her daughter as "generous, a good dancer", and who liked to read. "She speaks good English because she reads a lot. That's why she was immediately accepted in Convergys", the mother said.  Irish finished a management course at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila...

'The mother, who works as a utility person for a public school, said her daughter was raised by her grandparents when she was young.  Irish regularly sent money to her grandparents after she was employed, her mother said.  Irish planned to be a journalist, but because she wanted to help her family she applied for work at a call center, De Ocampo said.  "She told me that as a call center agent she could earn immediately and help the family", the mother said.

And now she is dead; and the jihadists who killed her, have deprived her family of a significant breadwinner. - CM.

'She [Irish's mother] said her daughter was a "fighter and an optimist".  "She had a fractured skull and a gaping wound on the right side of her stomach, but in the hospital I could feel she wanted to survive.  It was what she was - a fighter who always said the future will be better", De Ocampo said.  "How could this happen to someone who was young, healthy and full of life when she left home on Monday evening?  But when I saw her again she was fighting for her life", the mother told reporters.

"Whoever did this has no conscience", she said.

Yes.

Aileen, 17, Irish's younger sister, said the perpetrators, once captured, should show remorse.

They won't.  Surah 48: 29 of the Quran says that 'those who follow him (Muhammad) are ruthless to the unbelievers, but merciful to one another'  - CM.

'