Owner of SUV in Mandaluyong hit-and-run case surrenders to police

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The owner of the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), which figured in the infamous hit-and-run incident in Mandaluyong City, surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday.

During the Pulis @ Ur Serbis program hosted by UNTV and held at Camp Crame, the driver and owner of the Toyota RAV4 identified as Jose Antonio Sanvicente showed up following mounting calls from the public and the national police to face complaints.

Sanvicente’s lawyer Danny Macalino initially apologized for the driver’s actions, explaining that it was the son, not the father Joel Sanvicente, who owns and was driving the car that hit and ran over a security guard last June 5.

The younger Sanvicente then apologized to the security guard and his family.

“Wala naman akong masasabi na hindi naman masasabi ng abugado ko kung hindi my apologies sa nangyari, my apologies kay Mr. Floralde at sa kanyang pamilya,” said Jose Antonio.

But according to Macalino, they were not really pressured by the police’s call for them to surrender, saying the person of interest showed up to talk to lawyers and clear things out.

“Hindi naman under pressure but I think the proper remedy is kailangan magpakita siya to diffuse the public perception na nagtatago siya, at saka para ma-interview namin siya personally kung ano’ng nangyari,” the lawyer said.

“You cannot defend a person in his absence, you cannot. Kailangan malaman namin ang katotohanan. Ang katotohanan will set you free, ‘di ba,” he added.

Jose Antonio.’s appearance came days after police failed to find him following the incident on June 5, as he did not attend the hearings set by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) – which led to the revocation of his driver’s license.

He was not found at the residence of his father Joel, but Macalino said police might have been looking at the wrong place.

“Siguro let’s clarify, kaninong bahay ang pinuntahan.Baka ‘yong bahay na pinuntahan ay ‘yong bahay ng parents niya. Let us make this clear: ang registration, ang address niya as registered owner of the car, ‘yon ang bahay ng tatay niya,” Macalino claimed

“Pero nakausap ko ang tatay niya sabi niya matagal nang wala si Anton (Jose Antonio) doon, matagal na, hindi niya bahay ‘yon, bahay ng tatay niya,” he added.

To recall, a Toyota RAV4 bearing the plate number NCO 3781 was caught on a dashboard camera hitting and then running over a security guard managing traffic at an intersection along Doña Julia Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong City on June 5.

READ: Security guard injured after hit-and-run incident in Mandaluyong 

The incident resulted in the injury of victim Christian Floralde, who had to be placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit for monitoring.

KGA