Jonas Joshua Garcia, the 16-year-old student boxer who had been in critical condition at the University of Santo Tomas hospital after getting hurt at a regional athletic meet in Zambales passed away on Dec. 15, 2013.
Garcia, a fourth-year high school student from San Miguel, Bulacan had been clinically brain dead for days, a report on “24 Oras Weekend” aired Sunday evening said.
Garcia developed a blood clot in the brain Monday after a boxing match with a boy from Bataan at a regional meet organized by the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association. He was transferred to the UST Hospital Thursday evening.
Department of Education assistant secretary Tonisito Umali said in a text message to GMA News that the news saddened DepEd, which sponsored the event.
“DepEd is deeply saddened by the loss of Jonas Joshua Garcia. We may not fully know why sad things like this happen, however, we hope that it will help the family of Jonas to know that in this time of sorrow, their extended DepEd family cares and that our thoughts and prayers shall always be with them forever,” he said.
Umali had earlier said DepEd was not negligent when it included boxing in the regional athletic meet. He said boxing has always been included in DepEd athletic meets but that this is the first time that a student got seriously injured.
Despite that, the DepEd is investigating the incident and has removed boxing as an event at its sports competitions. The National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police are also probing the incident.
According to an earlier report, Garcia’s opponent has been undergoing counseling because he was greatly affected by what happened.
— GMA News