They were riding with around 20 other students in a bus owned by JD Tours when the bus lost its brakes and plunged down a steep ravine from a mountainous curve in the Transcentral highway off Balamban. The driver and owner of the bus also perished.

Most of these students were medical students at Cebu Doctors’ University, so it was not without tears that we heard of the strategy as my wife is a dean there.

I met a few Iranian students who graduated from CDU and they impressed me with their courteousness and respect. So to hear about these kids just going out for an R&R and then dying so needlessly in an accident, it’s hard to swallow.

So the authorities need to investigate this accident thoroughly. If the bus lost its brakes, how was the maintenance program of JD Tours, if any. Is the road where the accident happened travel-worthy, especially for buses? Did the driver know how to navigate the road?

Whatever the cause, responsibility has to be placed somewhere. Young people, no matter what country they come from, should not die in vain.