PNP chief orders arrest of hit-and-run suspect

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police PNP (PNP) officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. yesterday ordered police officers to apprehend the owner of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that ran over a security guard in Mandaluyong City on June 5.

Danao made the statement when he was asked in an interview over dzBB if authorities could not hold Jose Antonio Sanvicente as the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued only a lookout bulletin and there is still no warrant of arrest issued by a court against him.

“Ang sabi ko hulihin dahil (I said to arrest because) it’s a continuing crime since day one. Huhulihin po yan kahit walang (He will be arrested even without a) hold departure order,” he said.

The Mandaluyong police earlier filed charges of frustrated murder and abandonment of one’s own victim under Article 275 of the Revised Penal Code against Sanvicente after a dashcam video showed that his Toyota RAV 4 hit and ran over security guard Christian Floralde at an intersection in front of a mall in Barangay Wack-Wack.

Based on the latest information the PNP received from the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Danao said Sanvicente has not left the country.

Sanvicente’s refusal to surface only indicates that he was the one responsible for the hit-and-run, Danao said.

“If you are the owner of the vehicle and you know you were not the one driving, definitely you will surface,” he said.

Lookout order issued

The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against Sanvicente yesterday.

Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento said the Mandaluyong prosecutor’s office filed the request for an ILBO on Monday.

He added that a request for a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) has yet to be made by either the PNP or a representative of the complainant.

“We are waiting for these procedural requirements,” he said.

The ILBO, issued by the justice secretary, directs immigration officers that if a respondent attempts to leave the country via any of the international airports and seaports, the information should be immediately relayed to the Office of the Secretary of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General.

A PHDO is a written order issued by a court directing the BI to prevent a person suspected of a crime from leaving the country.

BI Commisioner Jaime Morente said the ILBO “has been encoded in our system and will allow our officers to monitor his travel if encountered in any airport or seaport nationwide.”

However, he clarified that the ILBO will not legally bar Sanvicente from leaving the country.

“If encountered, the BI is instructed to coordinate with the National Prosecution Service, the DOJ and the (Mandaluyong prosecutor’s office) to determine the appropriate action to be taken thereafter,” Morente said.

Sanvicente did not show up at the Land Transportation Office hearings on June 7 and 10, prompting the LTO to revoke his driver’s license and perpetually disqualify him from securing a driver’s license and driving a motor vehicle.

LTO records reportedly showed that Sanvicente had been apprehended three times for reckless driving in 2010, 2015 and 2016.  – Evelyn Macairan, Robertzon Ramirez