He’s also no longer allowed to drive, ever.
Mandaluyong City prosecutors charged Jose Antonio Sanvicente with frustrated homicide. Sanvicente was the SUV driver involved in a hit-and-run incident last June.
The prosecutors declared they found probable cause in a recently released resolution. The complaint for abandonment of one’s victim was also dismissed for lack of probable cause.
Eyewitnesses said Sanvicente hit security guard Christian Joseph Floralde with his car. Floralde was directing traffic at the time. The authorities took him to a nearby hospital for treatment. Doctors found that Floralde had broken bones and internal bleeding. After the collision, cops went to visit Sanvicente at his house. But village guards allegedly refused to give them access.
The prosecution said that the suspect did not check on his victim. Instead, Sanvicente sped away immediately after the collision.
“It would not be amiss to state that respondent neither reduced velocity, halted, nor changed direction after complainant was pinned by his vehicle. Respondent did not even express any regard for complainant by stopping his vehicle and/or alighting therefrom to check on the victim. Worse, respondent impertinently sped away as if nothing happened and without due concern that he could still run over complainant with his rear tires,” the resolution stated.
Frustrated homicide and revoked license
Even so, they noted that the incident met none of the requirements for murder under Article 248.
“While we do note that the crime may have been perpetrated with the use of a motor vehicle (Toyota RAV4), the same does not necessarily qualify the offense to murder. The qualifying circumstance of ‘by means of motor vehicle’ must pertain to an instance where the accused purposely sought or initially intended to commit a crime by employing such means.”
Furthermore, the Land Transportation Office permanently revoked Sanvicente’s driver’s license. He can no longer get a new license or drive any motor vehicle.
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Sanvicente’s non-professional license is with the LTO’s Intelligence and Investigation Division (IID).
Featured Image Macky Arquilla
