Arraignment of suspect in Ateneo road accident deferred

(Updated 11:53 a.m.) MANILA, Philippines – A local court postponed on Thursday its arraignment of the suspect in the road accident that killed an Ateneo fourth-grade student last February. This was because the family of the victim, 10-year-old Julian Carlo Miguel “Amiel" Alcantara, sought to have Ma. Theresa Torres-Laqui penalized for the offense of homicide instead of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. In a motion for the conduct of preliminary investigation with motion to defer arraignment filed before the sala of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 107 Presiding Judge Jose Bautista, the Alcantara family stressed that Laqui should be indicted for homicide since there was a criminal intent to kill. During the hearing, lawyer Rafael Aquino – the Alcantara family’s lead counsel – asked the court to direct the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine probable cause to indict Laqui for the crime of homicide. In their motion, Aquino said that the legal characterization of the offense as reckless imprudence is not better than a layman’s description of the tragedy as a "freak accident." "Private complainants, who grieve over the senseless and violent killing of their beloved Amiel could not in their hearts accept that his death was merely a case of reckless imprudence. Their beloved Amiel was killed willfully through the deliberate unlawful act of Ms. Torres-Laqui. She should be therefore be indicted for homicide," the motion read. For their part, the camp of Laqui filed a motion to quash information because the three cases against her were filed at three separate courts. Laqui’s camp said that the three cases against her – reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and two counts of reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries – should be consolidated at the Quezon RTC Branch 107. Bautista then reset the arraignment on March 20 pending the resolution of motions filed by the two parties. Bautista also gave the Alcantara family five days to file its comment on the motion to quash information, and Laqui’s camp also with another five days to submit their reply on the Alcantara family’s comment. Intentional? On February 24, the speeding van Laqui was driving at the grade school grounds of the Ateneo de Manila University hit Amiel, who died because of head injuries. Amiel’s nanny, Tomasa “Tata" Suarez, sustained leg injuries from the accident. In her sworn affidavit submitted to the Quezon City Police District’s (QCPD) Traffic Enforcement Unit after the accident, Laqui said that her van was only running "five to ten kilometers per hour" and that the vehicle’s brake malfunctioned, causing her to hit Amiel. But PO2 Jun Cuaresma of the QCPD’s Traffic Sector 3 later said that he checked the vehicle’s brake and found it functioning well, prompting him to theorize that Laqui might have stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. In their motion on Thursday, Aquino stressed that Laqui’s possible stepping on the accelerator toward the direction of Amiel was certainly willful and deliberate as there is no way that it could have merely stemmed from reckless imprudence, or inexcusable lack of precaution, her part. "As to the assertion of the accused that the speed of the van was only 5-10 kms/hr, the extensive damage to the rear of the CRV in conjunction with an eyewitness account would clearly show that the van accelerated way beyond 25 km/hr which per se is even in violation of the Motor Vehicle Law which provides that the speed limit in school zones is 25 km/hr," the motion further read. Apology unaccepted The report also said that Laqui also issued her apologies to the Alcantara family, who said that they will still seek justice for Amiel’s death despite the suspect’s apology. Jose Fernando, Amiel’s father, also said they will do everything for the expeditious resolution of the case so that it would serve as a deterrent to the drivers who are reckless particularly inside the school campuses. "Di natin pwedeng payagan na ang isang reckless na driver ay magpa-umanhin lamang sa pagkamatay ng isang bata lalo na sa isang eskwelahan [We cannot allow a reckless driver to get away with just an apology for the death of a child]," said Amiel’s father, Jose Fernando. Meanwhile, the Quezon City RTC branch also submitted for resolution the motion to issue hold departure order against Laqui to prevent her from leaving the country while the case is still ongoing. GMA’s Flash Report quoted the Alcantaras as saying that the hold departure order against Laqui is their first step to bringing her to justice. - GMANews.TV