IDAVAO CITY, Philippines – It took twenty years for the case of 16-year old Chery Sarate, who died from burns from a campus beauty pageant in the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP), to find closure.
The Supreme Court on May 14, announced its decision that ordered USEP and its former officials to pay P 6.45 million in damages, as the high court found the university had “collective negligence” in failing to “exercise diligence in taking safety measures” in its facilities.
The university released a statement on May 18 saying the administration will uphold its responsibility and welfare of its academic community.
It further said its administration will review and discuss the court decision with its governing bodies, including the Board of Regents and concerned offices of the university, and with the Office of the Solicitor General which handles legal defense of government agencies.
The case centered around whether the university officials were directly responsible over a campus beauty pageant held in July 20, 2006 where Sarate met her accident.
The beauty contest, organized by the Guild of English Students, was held in the university social hall in USEP’s main campus in Obrero. Sarate, a first-year English major from Calinan, was among its participants.
Court records showed that the accident happened when Sarate’s costume, made of flammable materials such as cellophane and cotton balls, caught fire when she walked through the runway lit with candles wrapped in brown paper bags.
Sarate leapt to the side of the stage screaming for help as students rushed to put out the flames from her. She was seen naked waist up as her costume was burned, as people tried to embrace her. Witnesses said there were no fire extinguishers around the venue.
An ambulance arrived 30 minutes after the scene, as the court noted the only faculty members present were there as judges of the pageant.
Sarate died in the hospital three days later on July 23 by cardiac arrest due to septic shock, as most of her upper body was burned.
Sarate’s parents, Antonio and Rosita, filed for damages against the university and the campus organization, and what followed was decades of waiting as the case made its way to the Supreme Court.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 11 handed a decision in October 2014 which ruled that the USEP officials and the Guild’s faculty adviser were liable for Sarate’s death.
At that time, the court ordered the payment of Php 50,000 in civil indemnity, Php 200,000 in exemplary damages, Php 500,000 in moral damages and attorney’s fees.
The court later modified its ruling in December 2014, absolving the university officials and held only the faculty adviser liable.
But the Sarate couple appealed the modified ruling before the Court of Appeals, which reversed the order back to its original decision in August 2018.
USEP elevated the case before the Supreme Court in 2019 after the Court of Appeals denied its motion for reconsideration.
The Supreme Court rejected the university’s argument that the activity was a private affair of a campus organization that was not authorized by the school and violated school policy as it was held on a regular school day.
The high court pointed out that the members are students enrolled in the university, which the school has responsibility over.
“The holding of the activity on a date different from the schedule and the fact that it violated the university’s policy of holding activities only on weekends does not make the activity illegal or unauthorized but may only open (petitioner), as its adviser, to administrative sanctions from the school,”
The SC further said “There is also collective negligence on the part of the petitioner university, through its administrators and officers-in-charge, when it failed to exercise due diligence in taking safety measures to ensure that no unfortunate incident would happen for those who would use its facilities.”
The high court in its decision also said the death of a child is “unnatural and unfathomable” for the grieving parents.
It further stressed that the law requires compensation for a wrongful death. It ordered the university and its co-respondents to pay the parents of Sarate Php 300,000 in civil indemnity, Php 5 million in moral damages, Php 1 million in exemplary damages, and Php 150,000 in attorney’s fees.
The Court explained that it increased exemplary damages due to the gravity of the negligence involved.
The decision closes the case of one of the tragic student deaths in Davao.
A relative of Sarate shared a statement made public on his Facebook post.
“No amount of money can ever bring Cheryl back. But this decision stands as recognition that what happened was wrong, and that accountability matters. Justice delayed is still justice served.
“And for our family, Ate Cheryl will always be remembered not just for how she left this world, but for the truth that was finally acknowledged after 20 long years.”(davaotoday.com)
