The civilian who took over a military truck and rammed it into pedestrians and parked vehicles in Davao City will face charges for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, physical injury, and damage to property.

The man was identified as Crenenandy Cadiente.

Dawn on Christmas Eve, members of Task Force Davao went to the Bangkerohan Market on board a KM450 truck for a security operation in line with the holidays.

After they disembarked, the truck’s driver, First Class Patrick Trumata, also went down to check if all his passengers had gone down. He also went to the restroom.

This gave Cadiente the opportunity to go up the driver’s seat, took charge of the vehicle, and rammed it into several pedestrians and vehicles parked in the area.

The incident killed two people and injured three others.

The fatalities were identified as Jaime Cole, 63, and Rosel Luna Haspe, 34.

A motorcycle and another car were also damaged.

“Bumaba ng saglit po itong driver para i-check ang kasamahan niya kung nakababa na ba lahat sa likod at sumalisi ang suspek at bigla niyang minaneho itong KM450,” San Pedro Police chief, Major Marvin Hugos, said.

Cadiente, a dispatcher at the market, said he only tried to transfer the truck as it allegedly caused traffic in the area.

“Ipatabi ko lang sir tapos na-lock ang manubela sir,” he said.

Cadiente is now in jail while Trumata may face administrative charges.

Meanwhile, Task Force Davao took full responsibility of the incident and has asked the families of the victims for forgiveness. It has facilitated assistance for the victims’ families.

The Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) has ordered an investigation into an incident.

(With reports from Jandi Esteban)