By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES
A QUEZON City regional trial court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of bus driver Daniel Espinosa charged in the death of journalism professor and VERA Files trustee Lourdes “Chit” Estella Simbulan after he was a no show at his arraignment.
Espinosa, driver of the Universal Guiding Star bus that rammed the taxi Estella was riding on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on May 13, is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property with homicide.
Also charged is Victor Ancheta, driver of the Nova bus, which police investigation showed was the first to hit the taxi.
Judge Ralph Lee of Branch 83 pushed through with the arraignment despite Ancheta’s petition to move the arraignment because, he said, was implicated by a mere testimony of a witness.
Lee denied the petition, saying “the motion for reconsideration is not a ground under the rules of court to suspend proceedings, it should be via petition to refute before the Department of Justice.”
Ancheta entered a “not guilty” plea. The pre-trial conference is scheduled on Jan. 25.
Police reported that both drivers fled the scene after their buses hit the Abu Abbey taxi near the UP-Ayala Land Technohub. Estella, 53, was killed instantly. Damage to the taxi amounted to P250,000.
Under Article 365 (Criminal Negligence) of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, reckless imprudence “consists in voluntary, but without malice, doing or falling to do an act from which material damage results by reason of inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the person performing of failing to perform such act, taking into consideration his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, physical condition and other circumstances regarding persons, time and place.”
Espinosa, who was found to driving beyond the 60-kilometer-per-hour speed limit at the time of the accident, went in hiding after the incident and surrendered days later in Davao City to Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Espinos, 39, a native of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, was reported to have been involved in four other traffic violations before the said accident.
In his counter affidavit, however, Espinosa said he did not exceed the speed limit on Commonwealth. He also blamed taxi driver Vito Jagunos for occupying the yellow lane meant for buses and the two Nova buses, one driven by Ancheta, which were racing against each other.
On the day of the accident, Estella was on her way to meet friends at the Technohub just across the University of the Philippines, Diliman where she taught journalism at the College of Mass Communication. She was a journalist for three decades.
On Sept. 26, the Quezon City Council in Resolution No. 5311 recognized the “immense contributions” of Estella as “one of the country’s premier academicians and journalists.
Judge Lee is a known “Ondoy hero” who drove his Jet Ski in floodwaters to save around 100 residents of Sta. Monica, Novaliches, Quezon City.
