Drunk driver allowed to post bail, explained his panic

Niño San Gabriel is finally subdued after a chase by the Quezon City police on Tuesday night. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office has recommended bail of P30,000 for the release of a drunk driver who tried to flee after ramming his vehicle into a UV Express van on Commonwealth Avenue on Tuesday night.

At press time, however, Niño San Gabriel, a 39-year-old contractor, remains in the custody of the Quezon City police. He was captured after the police fired at his tires during a chase in which he rammed into the passenger van twice and ran over two motorcycles whose riders tried to block his path.

On Wednesday night, San Gabriel underwent inquest proceedings, with Assistant City Prosecutor Reuben Veradio recommending bail for the charge of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple damage to property.

The other cases against San Gabriel which included drunk driving, resistance and disobedience to persons of authority, grave threat and discharge of firearms were recommended for further investigation. According to Veradio, these charges required additional evidence and supporting documents.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, the police district director, said Veradio’s recommendation would still require the approval of the inquest division chief of the city prosecutor’s office.

Eleazar said the police would pursue the cases against San Gabriel.

Aside from admitting that he was drunk when he was driving on Tuesday, San Gabriel claimed that he got frightened because he once experienced an ambush, Eleazar added.

San Gabriel was apparently referring to an ambush in Bulacan province in 2015. According to media reports, men on motorbikes fired at him and his companion, Jezyriel Beturin, who was killed in the attack. –Jhesset O. Enano