Courtesy of the Philippine National Police
MANILA – The owner of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) involved in a now-viral hit-and-run of a mall security guard in Mandaluyong City has so far refused to surrender to authorities, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.
In a press briefing, PNP chief Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao told the vehicle owner, Jose Antonio Sanvicente, to await the release of the arrest warrant against him. According to the Land Transportation Office, Sanvicente was the driver of the vehicle during the incident, based on his father's admission.
“We have already identified the owner of the SUV that, yung sumagasa po doon sa ating (the one who ran over our) security guard. And unfortunately, the owner, take note--the owner of the vehicle refused to surrender,” Danao said.
“O, warning sa'yo Mr. San Vicente, kapangalan pa naman kita sa first name. Okay, sana hindi ka maging San Vicente. Take note ha. Kung marunong kang umintindi sa sinasabi ko, 'wag ka sanang umabot sa punto na magiging Santo Vicente ka.”
The top cop added, “Ayaw mong magpakita, napaksimpleng problema naman sana, na kaya pa nating ayusin. Eh ayaw mong magpakita, so you wait for your warrant of arrest to come out.”
(You don't want to show up. It's a simple problem we could have fixed. But you didn't show up. So you wait for your arrest warrant to come out.
Danao said the owner’s refusal to surrender may be a sign of guilt on his part.
“The possibility is guilty ka. Bakit ayaw mong sumurrender? Hindi ba? Unang-una ,identified na nga ang may-ari. Kung hindi ikaw gumagamit ng sasakyan nung panahon na ‘yan, eh ‘di dapat you have to defend yourself,” he said.
(The possibility is you're guilty. Why don't you want to surrender? First of all, you have been identified. If you really weren't the driver, you have to defend yourself.)
“Natural courses of a decent man who is in his right senses will definitely surrender immediately,” he added.
The security guard who fell victim in the hit-and-run was treated in the hospital for injuries. He was directing traffic at the time of the incident early this month.
Cases of frustrated murder and abandonment of one’s victim have been filed against the RAV4 owner, police had said.