Truck driver in fatal road crash involving journalist freed

DUMAGUETE CITY — The driver of the truck that figured in an accident and killed a Cebu-based journalist was released by the police.

Nielric Gaso, 27, was freed from jail at 9 a.m. on Monday after the lapse of the 18-hour reglementary period for detention for crimes relating to serious physical injury, according to Captain Carlo Desano, chief of the San Jose Police Station in Negros Oriental.

Pegeen Maisie Sararaña, a multi-media reporter of Cebu Daily News (CDN) Digital, however, died 12 hours after the release of the driver, due to severe brain injuries.

She was at the intensive care unit of the Negros Polymedic Hospital in Sibulan town, Negros Oriental, when she died at 9:14 p.m. on Monday. She was 24.

Desano said the family of Sararaña could still file a complaint against Gaso, but it shall undergo the regular preliminary investigation, where the suspect would be given the chance to submit a counter-affidavit to refute the allegations against him.

The Cebu-based journalist was in Negros Oriental to cover the events in connection with the slaying of Gov. Roel Degamo and eight others last March 4.

The police report said Sararaña was heading home at 3:10 p.m. on March 12 on board a motorcycle driven by her boyfriend, Niel Ian Balcobero, when the truck suddenly rammed into them from behind while the two were waiting to turn left in Barangay Tampi, San Jose town, Negros Oriental.

The truck dragged the motorcycle at least 35 feet away.

The two victims were immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. Balcobero survived, but Sararaña went unconscious until she died.

Gaso was arrested on Sunday afternoon but was released about 9 a.m. on Monday because “there was no complaint from the family of the victim 18 hours after the incident, and so we didn’t have any choice but to release Gaso,” Desano said.

Under the Revised Penal Code, complaints against suspects for crimes of serious physical injuries, less serious physical injuries, and reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property shall be filed within 18 hours since the arrest was made, otherwise law enforcers shall release the suspect.

On the other hand, complaints against suspects for crimes of serious physical injuries and reckless imprudence resulting in homicide or death should be filed within 36 hours.

“When we released Gaso, the victim was still alive although was unconscious at the hospital. Hence, the reglementary period for the police to detain Gaso was only within 18 hours,” Desano explained.

Sararaña’s sister Claire said their family could not accept what happened.

“She still has a lot of plans for us. She was a family-oriented person who always remembers us even if she was away for work,” Claire told the Inquirer.

“It’s very hard to believe what has happened to my sister,” she added.

Sararaña joined CDN Digital in 2020. Since then, she had covered the police and military beat in Central Visayas.

In a statement, the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists (CFBJ), an umbrella organization of media workers in Cebu, expressed grief over Sararaña’s death.

“Until now, we’re still in disbelief that Pegeen is gone. Your sudden death is so painful to accept,” said CFBJ President Arnold Bustamante in Cebuano.

Sararaña, he said, was the youngest member of the Defense Philippine National Police Press Corps, prompting them to address her as “Baby.”

“We were together when we went to Negros Oriental for a coverage (on Degamo’s death). We went home ahead of you. We were just shocked to learn that you met with an accident on your way home,” Bustamante said.

RELATED STORIES

Outpouring of grief over Cebu journo’s death | CDN Digital

Cebu-based journalist Pegeen Sararaña dies at 24 | Inquirer News

lzb