Hit-and-run victim dies; vehicle owned by Joy Belmonte aide

After being comatose for nine days, a 52-year-old man died early this week after being hit by a vehicle owned by the chief of staff of Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte.

Charges were being readied on Friday against Joseph Teddy Garcia, 41, driver of the Toyota Revo that hit Archangel Albiento on March 11.

Albiento, a government employee, died of head injuries on Wednesday after being comatose for nine days since the hit-and-run incident at a pedestrian crossing in Barangay Pag-Ibig Sa Nayon.

SPO3 Crisaldo Nemenzo of the Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Enforcement Unit said Garcia was a friend of the vehicle’s registered owner, Rowena Macatao, Belmonte’s chief of staff.

Police only learned of the driver’s identity after Garcia, accompanied by Macatao’s lawyer, went to the QCPD-TEU to meet with the Albiento family.

Macatao’s lawyer Philip Sawali told reporters they were willing to shoulder the expenses.

Sawali also disclosed that Macatao has no driver’s license since she doesn’t know how to drive but that she allows her friends to use her vehicle.

Archangel was hit by the Revo at around 9:20 p.m. on March 11 as he was crossing Sgt. Rivera Road near A. Bonifacio Avenue.

Three men helped get a tricycle for Archangel and brought him to President Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Medical Center for treatment. He was later transferred to Far Eastern University Hospital.

Speaking to reporters, Albiento’s 22-year-old daughter Adjie said the family would press charges against Garcia. Macatao, she said, had already paid for about 75 percent of the P423,000 hospital bill.

Garcia faces charges for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and violation of the Revised Penal Code for abandoning a person in danger.