Vehicle hits, kills lawyer on way to hearing mass

CEBU, Philippines - A 67-year-old female lawyer died after she was hit by a pickup past 6 a.m. yesterday along Escario Street near Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Capitol Parish.

Atty. Norma Torres Garciano, a resident of Don Gil Garcia in Barangay Capitol Site, was walking along the street from a bank on her way to hear a morning mass when she was hit by a Mitsubishi Strada bearing plate number YHE 112.

In a telephone interview with The FREEMAN, PO3 Clifton Manogura of Fuente Police Station said that Janet Silay Yamyamin, 24, resident of Sitio Baka in Barangay Banilad, surrendered at 7:51 a.m. together with his uncle.

Yamyamin, a call center agent who was on her way to IT Park when the incident happened, told the police that she had hit someone on Escario Street. Upon verification, she was turned over to traffic investigators.

Yamyamin reportedly did not notice that she had actually hit someone; it was a motorist who told her that a woman had been hit.

Due to the impact, Garciano was thrown into the opposite lane and was yet subsequently hit by an Isuzu Highlander with plate number YBK 950 driven by Wichel Tagalog.

Tagalog, 28, a resident of Barangay Guadalupe, was on his way to IT Park and traveling the same street but on opposite direction.

When he noticed that that the victim landed in front of his car, he stopped and surrendered to the police immediately.

In a telephone interview with The FREEMAN, Joy Tumulak, operation officer of City Traffic Operation Management, said that Tagalog was released yesterday afternoon.

Tumulak said that based on SPO1 Dominador Ungab’s investigation, it turned out that Tagalog has no liability over the incident.

Wenefredo dela Victoria, a CITOM recorder, in a separate interview said the lawyer already lost her vital signs when the personnel from Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation arrived. This was based on the spot report written by Ungab.

Tumulak said that Yamyamin is now under police custody and she will be detained at Fuente Police Station pending the filing of charges against her.

Meanwhile, lawyer Mae Elaine Bathan, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City Chapter, told the media yesterday that they were saddened over what had happened to their member, Garciano.

Garciano died a day after lawyer Noel Archival was ambushed in Barangay Coro in Dalaguete town.

Archival and his companions were on board a Ford Escape with plate numbers YGE 240 while on their way to Cebu City from a hearing in Dumaguete City on Tuesday.

Initially, Bathan said upon learning Garciano was hit, their call was for the traffic police to go after the suspect.

However, she said it’s a good thing the suspect surrendered to the authorities in order to take responsibility.

Their national office, Bathan said, will give financial assistance to the family of Garciano in the amount of P20,000.

She said from the mortuary assistance fund of IBP Cebu City Chapter, they will also give financial assistance to the family of the victim amounting to P5,000. — (FREEMAN)