- Cultural activist and writer Katrina Stuart Santiago wrote her opinions about the recent accident of Eddie Garcia on her Facebook account
- Her opinions call attention to the flaws of the entertainment industry
- Meanwhile, Garcia is still in a critical condition according to the Makati Medical Center spokesperson on Tuesday
Cultural activist and writer Katrina Stuart Santiago wrote her opinions about the recent incident involving Eddie Garcia on her Facebook account.
Her post caught the attention of the netizens as it discussed the recent accident met by Garcia during his taping for Rosang Agimat series and pointed out the flaws of the entertainment industry leading to the actor’s endangerment.
This was Katrina’s Facebook post on June 10, Monday night: “Heartbreaking to hear that not only did #EddieGarcia have an accident while shooting, but also that there were no medics or emergency vans on site in case of accidents like this one.
“What makes this worse is the fact that what we first heard of the veteran actor’s ‘accident’ was that it was no accident at all — instead it was portrayed as a ‘heart attack’ by the first press releases.
“Who stands to gain by changing this story?
“What we hear now is the crew of the said shoot being blamed for the accident, because Garcia had tripped on something, making him fall and break his neck.
“This part is where we see how the real culprits will get away with this: because it’s already setting up who will be held accountable, and it’s apparently not the ones who SHOULD BE responsible enough to give an elder member of the cast extra assistance, if not his own PA.
“I mean senior citizens get special treatment EVERYWHERE from banks to restaurants to just crossing the street! Why was this legend not given the same treatment on a set?
“Here’s the thing though: we have nothing that protects senior actors like Eddie Garcia from this kind of ‘accidents’ and ‘incidents’ that are totally avoidable.
“We have nothing that will ensure that the crew who are being ‘blamed’ will get due process and will not be used as mere fall guys so the real culprits can avoid accountability.
“We have nothing that allows us as a cultural sector to collectively stand against the reckless endangerment of cultural workers, given these TV and movie sets, given just basic requirements like an emergency assistance van and medics on site.
“And listen to the spin: other than prayer, next we’re going to hear ‘no one wanted this to happen.’
“Well, guess what: if you didn’t want this to happen then there should’ve been proper assistance and support for actors like Eddie Garcia. Plain and simple.
“And now that this has happened: there should be a push to organize as cultural workers so that we can ensure the safety of our elders — and all workers — in the industries we are part of. Tell me if you’re now up to it.”
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Garcia, who just turned 90, collapsed during the taping of the said series and sustained a neck fracture injury after tripping and falling last June 8. He was first taken to the Mary Johnston Hospital for treatment before being transferred to the Makati Medical Center on Sunday.
This was contrary to an early statement attributed to his family which stated that Garcia “suffered from a severe heart attack” during the taping and this was in turn released by GMA. On June 9, Sunday, GMA Network said it was still reviewing the viral video of the veteran actor’s accident.
Garcia’s co-star, Jestoni Alarcon recalled the actor’s accident and said he had a heart attack while Phillip Salvador contradicted this saying that he just tripped on a cable.
Opposed to what Salvador said, Dindo Arroyo, who was with Garcia during the taping, believed that he did not trip over a wire and said others should “stop making stories.”
With this situation, Garcia’s family and celebrities led by Sharon Cuneta, Vice Ganda, and Ogie Alcasid have asked for prayers for the fast recovery of the actor.
In the recent update of ABS-CBN News, the veteran actor is still in a coma and continues to be in critical condition at the Makati Medical Center where he is being treated after an on-set accident over the weekend, the hospital’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“Mr. Garcia continues to be in critical condition. He is in a comatose state with minimal spontaneous respiration,” Dr. Artemio Salvador, Patient Relations Department Division Head of the Makati Medical Center, said in a statement.
