Employment support is being lined up by the Cebu City Government for the father of an 18-year-old student killed in a recent ambulance crash, as local officials respond to the family’s loss with assistance measures.
Mayor Nestor Archival on Monday said the city will offer a job to the father of Braille Nichole Kwek, who died in the April 14, 2026 collision along the Archbishop Reyes Avenue flyover.
Archival made the statement during a press briefing on April 20, describing the situation as deeply distressing for the family and requiring immediate support from the local government.
“Just imagine the father arriving here and seeing his child’s shoe by the roadside. You can only imagine the pain of a parent in that situation,” Archival said.
He said the victim’s father had been working abroad as a computer technician in Dubai but returned home without financial savings.
“He had nothing in his pocket when he came back. One way of helping him, since this happened in our city, is to offer him a job. We have seen that his skills can be used by the Cebu City government. This is one way of taking care of our people,” the mayor said.
The city has yet to announce the specific position, but Archival said the father’s technical background will be considered in identifying a suitable role.
Alongside the employment assistance, Archival also ordered the Cebu City Traffic Management Coordination to submit a full report on the crash for review by concerned agencies, including traffic enforcement, disaster response, and legal offices.
He said the incident has also prompted a review of traffic protocols involving emergency vehicles, particularly on flyovers.
“I understand the collision happened on the flyover. There may need to be regulations on whether emergency vehicles should still pass through these structures,” Archival said.
He added that the city is studying whether ambulances and fire trucks should be restricted to ground-level roads instead of elevated structures to reduce risk.
“Most flyovers only have two lanes. If this continues with emergency vehicles, motorcycles, and other traffic we may see more accidents,” he said.
The crash happened on April 14 along the Archbishop Reyes Avenue flyover and involved an ambulance driven by 23-year-old Kevin Ryan Gesta and a motorcycle carrying two students.
Police said the ambulance was traveling against the flow of traffic when it collided with the motorcycle, killing Kwek and injuring 19-year-old Juan Antonio Ladioray, who was driving the motorcycle.
Gesta is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injury and damage to property, with authorities also preparing a separate complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.
The incident has triggered wider discussions on emergency vehicle protocols, with officials stressing that while ambulances are given priority on the road, they are still bound by safety rules to prevent avoidable crashes. (LLP)
Photo by Jacq Hernandez, PBB Photographer
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