Former Cebu provincial capitol chief security officer Loy Madrigal was behind the wheel of a government-owned truck that got involved in a fatal accident in Bogo City in September, a woman who survived the crash told reporters yesterday.
“Di ko pwede masayop. Siya gyud to kay siya man ang nigawas sa driver nga side (I can’t be mistaken. I saw him get out from the driver side),” said Marites Mirambel, who went to the Capitol yesterday to seek an audience with Gov. Hilario Davide III.
Cebu Daily News tried to reach Madrigal yesterday but he was not available for comment.
Accompanied by her daughter, Leslie and a sister, Mirambel was walking with the aid of crutches, her left leg still heavily bandaged.
Mirambel was riding with her husband, Felix, when a speeding truck hit them along the highway in Bogo City. Felix was killed in the accident.
She said they went to the Capitol to follow up on the job that Davide promised to give to her daughter, Leslie. The governor was not in his office when Mirambel came in the morning, but they were able to see Davide when he arrived in the afternoon.
Madrigal earlier pointed to his driver, Alberto Naraja, as the one behind the wheel, saying he was seated at the back of the black Mitsubishi Strada. Naraja, 45, has applied as a job order employee under the Civil Security Unit (CSU) but has yet to sign a contract at the time of the accident.
But Mirambel dismissed Madrigal’s explanation, adding that the former security head only lied to escape future liability.
Mirambel claimed that she was conscious and saw a “tall and big man” get out of the driver’s side of the truck. She was only able to identify the person as Madrigal when the latter visited the couple at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) three days after the accident.
My husband died because of severe loss of blood. It really took a long time before he was brought to the hospital in Bogo,” explained Mirambel.
Madrigal tendered his resignation last September 18 following the call from Davide for him to step down from office after a photo scandal broke out online which showed the security head seated cozily on an airport bench with his married secretary.
Provincial Social Welfare and Development (PSWDO) officer-in-charge Rose Jao said the provincial government already took care of the hospital bills and burial asssitance to the Mirambel family. This included P50,000 burial assistance and P98,000 for the hospital bill which covered the leg surgery of Marites.
Mirambel said the family is determined to file charges against the security officer unless a settlement is reached. She said Madrigal has to answer for his actions, saying Madrigal should meet with them and come up with an agreement for financial assistance to her family.
“Wa mi laing mahimo. If di matagaan ug tabang, mupasaka gyud mi ug kaso batok ni Madrigal,” she added.
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