The grandmother of Jonalyn Oliva, the 17-year-old girl who died in a motorcycle accident in Balintawak, Pagadian City, has broken her silence.

In an emotional interview, she described Jonalyn as a kind and responsible granddaughter.

“She would cook rice early in the morning before going to school, and that’s what she would bring for lunch,” said the grandmother.

“When she came home from school, she would immediately open the pot because she was hungry.”

On the day of the accident, however, the pancit bihon that her grandmother had set aside for her remained untouched.

News of Jonalyn’s accident reached the family through her sibling, who informed their grandmother of the tragic event.

The grandmother also expressed her confusion about why the accident happened in a different barangay, as she thought Jonalyn was at school.

Unknown to her, Jonalyn and her friends had decided to go out because classes were suspended for the school’s Buwan ng Wika opening celebration.

Jonalyn’s parents, though separated and working as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), remained active in monitoring their children’s lives.

Her father is based in Brunei while her mother works in Kuwait. Upon learning of the tragedy, her mother has been processing her documents to return to the Philippines immediately.

Jonalyn’s father, heartbroken, shared that every time he returns home, it feels like death always greets him. The family had previously lost their eldest child to an undisclosed cause.

Jonalyn was the youngest among her siblings.