Mandaluyong police rap village security for not cooperating in hit-and-run probe
CAUGHT ON DASHCAM The security guard is shown being run over in this screengrab of the dashcam footage. —VIDEO courtesy of Miko Angelo Ramos
MANILA, Philippines — Security personnel of a subdivision in Quezon City would face a complaint of obstruction of justice for supposedly not cooperating in the police’s investigation of the hit-and-run incident in a Mandaluyong City business district last Sunday.
Authorities believe that the still unidentified suspect in the infamous hit-and-run case that seriously injured a security guard on traffic management duty is a resident of the subdivision.
Mandaluyong City Police chief Col. Gauvin Mel Unos said the complaint have been filed earlier before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
“Nasampahan na po natin ng obstruction of justice ‘yong mga security guards kaninang umaga do’n sa Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office,” Unos told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.
Unos clarified that while the police have no search or arrest warrants as they conduct their investigation, they were doing a hot pursuit or follow-up operation against the suspect, who is facing a complaint of frustrated murder.
“Wala pong warrant ‘yon kasi hot pursuit siya, ‘pag hot pursuit po o ‘yong tinatawag nating follow-up, kasi ang warrant can only be issued by the courts, eh no’ng panahon na ‘yon bago pa naman nangyari ‘yong incident,” he explained.
“It is a hot pursuit, kumbaga follow-up operation ‘yan,” he added.
Over the weekend, a video of a hit-and-run incident at a busy intersection of a business district in Mandaluyong City made the rounds on social media. In the viral video, a Toyota RAV4 with plate number NCO 3781 hit a security guard managing traffic flow at the intersection along Doña Julia Vargas Avenue. The victim fell to the ground after the initial contact, but the vehicle proceeded to run over the security guard and sped away.
The entire hit-and-run incident on Sunday, June 5, was caught by a nearby vehicle’s dashboard camera.
READ: Police sue driver in a hit-and-run incident in Mandaluyong
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has summoned the owner of the compact SUV, but he did not show up at the hearing set for Tuesday afternoon.
READ: LTO summons owner of SUV in hit-and-run incident of traffic officer
The LTO then issued another summon, but warned that if the suspect again fails to attend the hearing on June 10, administrative proceedings against him will continue as it would mean he “waives his right to be heard.”
