Woman dies waiting for bus trip in Pasay City

A 33-year-old woman was not able to return to her family in Camarines Sur after being found unconscious on a footbridge in Pasay City and later died in hospital.

She was identified as Michelle Silvertino, from Barabbas Burabod in Calabanga town.

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Woman dies waiting for bus trip in Pasay City
Michelle Silvertino died while waiting for a bus trip in Pasay City to go home to Bicol. (Image from ABS-CBN News)

According to a Pasay City Police report, it was early June 5 when a concerned citizen found Silvertino struggling to breathe and had a fever. The police report added that the concerned citizen first reached out to Barangay 159, but they declined to respond.

Silvertino was unconscious when police arrived who took her to the hospital where she later died.

The victim was also subjected to a swab test. Her death certificate states that COVID-19 was the probable cause of her death.

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According to Silvertino’s friend Nathanael Alviso, she had been suffering from a lung disease for a long time now.

“By 5 am ng Friday, unconscious na siya. Dinala siya sa Pasay City General Hospital and she was pronounced dead on arrival. The suspicion is baka daw COVID pero in my knowledge, alam kong may sakit siya sa baga kaya nga na-pending ‘yung process niya pagpa-abroad,” he said.

(She was unconscious by 5 am on Friday. She was brought to  Pasay City General Hospital, and she was pronounced dead on arrival. They suspect she died of COVID, but in my knowledge, she has a lung disease that’s why her application to go abroad was pending.)

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Woman dies waiting for bus trip in Pasay City

Silvertino’s remains were immediately buried in Pasay City cemetery. She has four children.

Alviso said they helped Silvertino process papers to work in Saudi Arabia as a domestic helper to support her children in September 2019.

While her colleagues were able to leave, Silvertino was left behind because she did not pass the medical examination.

Before the end of May, Silvertino told her boss she would go home to Bicol to take care of the children.

May 31, or the day before Metro Manila was placed under the general community quarantine, the employer sent her to the Cubao terminal because they thought there would be bus trips going to Bicol. But since there was no regular trip under the general community quarantine, she walked to Pasay with her luggage.

Alviso said her friend stayed in Pasay for five days waiting for bus trips. 

Some government agencies have tried to get her involved in the Balik Probinsya program. She was scheduled to undergo rapid testing on June 6 before returning home.