The man allegedly behind the fatal hit-and-run that killed nurse Renz Jayson Perez surrendered yesterday before Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
Read: Owner of SUV that killed nurse claims innocence in Manila hit-and-run
Muhammad Ali Sulaiman confessed that he was the driver of the vehicle that killed the medical worker, who was supposed to work at a Quezon City hospital if not for his demise.
“I hope you can forgive me for the sin that I have done,” Sulaiman said before Moreno and Perez’s family, who witnessed his surrender at the Manila City Hall.
Sulaiman admitted that he did not surrender immediately because he was afraid over what could happen to him. A leader of the Muslim community managed to convince the suspect to surrender before Moreno. Sulaiman is the brother of Saudah Bacaye, the woman who confessed that she owned the SUV that killed Perez. She said that she was innocent of the accident and that someone else borrowed the vehicle from her. She did not admit to the authorities that it was her brother who was involved in the accident, claiming that she did not know who borrowed her SUV.
Bacaye is willing to extend financial help to the Perezes, but the late nurse’s family dismissed her brother’s apology and remains determined to press charges against Sulaiman.
Read: Happy World Bicycle Day? Group calls for safe bike lanes after makeshift markers removed
Moreno said in a statement that Bacaye, as the owner of the vehicle, is not completely blameless.
“I have something to ask from the owner of the vehicle. I hope you will learn a lesson about letting someone borrow your vehicle because I think your lawyer will agree with me that there is some level of responsibility as the owner,” the mayor said.
The 23-year-old Perez, a former nurse at the Justice Jose Abad Santos Hospital in Binondo, was struck at the corner of Manila’s Padre Burgos and Orosa streets last week while he was cycling on his way home.
He is the second health worker to have died while cycling. Maria Teresa Dajao, a doctor working at the Manila health department, was fatally hit by a truck in Pandacan in April. Many Filipinos have had to cycle to and from work because public transport is operating at a reduced capacity in the country to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
