Homicide complaint vs musician dismissed

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ILOILO CITY — The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Capiz has dismissed the criminal complaint filed against a busker and content creator over a road accident that resulted in the death of two individuals.

The Cuartero Municipal Police Station in Capiz had filed charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against Clyde Xerxes Sampiano Ortencio.

The accident happened on Nov. 26, 2024, along the national highway in Barangay Bitoon Ilaya, which claimed the lives of a 20-year-old woman and her 2-month-old infant.

In a joint resolution dated Dec. 27, 2024, the prosecutor dismissed the case for failure to establish prima facie evidence linking Ortencio to the deaths.

Ortencio, driving a Toyota Raize, was en route to separate events in Roxas City and Mambusao, Capiz, when the crash occurred.

The accident involved Leomar Bernales Gellangarin, who was driving a Kawasaki Baja motorcycle with a sidecar.

Gellangarin allegedly swerved, causing his live-in partner, Ivy Lopez Rivera, and their daughter to be thrown into the opposite lane, where Rivera was fatally run over by a van.

The van driver, Benedick Villar Billones, was absolved of responsibility after Rivera's parents executed an Affidavit of Noninterest, citing a "spirit of forgiveness" and a desire to avoid legal expenses.

Billones' van had no Certificate of Registration (CR) and Official Receipt (OR) when the accident happened, according to the resolution.

Like the van, it was also revealed that Gellangarin's vehicle had no CR and OR when the incident happened.

Aside from driving without a license and operating an unregistered motorcycle, the resolution also stressed that Gellangarin was driving a tricycle, which is restricted on national highways.

A 2020 Memorandum Circular of the Department of the Interior and Local Government prohibits tricycles, pedicabs and motorized pedicabs from entering on national highways.

Ortencio denied bumping the motor tricycle and argued that it was Gellangarin who hit the left side of the front of his Toyota Raize.

He attributed the accident to Gellangarin's lack of foresight and skill in maneuvering his motor tricycle.

The prosecutor pointed out that the physical evidence, including the post-collision state of the vehicles, aligned with Ortencio's account of the incident.

The prosecutor cited the doctrine of in pari delicto — which holds that when both parties are at fault, neither can claim damages — noting that Ortencio's actions were less reckless than Gellangarin's.

"Comparing this to the violations and recklessness committed by Leomar Bernales Gellangarin, the latter committed greater culpability," the resolution reads.