EYEWITNESS

First Person
By John (Boboy) Shinn III
L.A. ZAMBOANGA TIMES
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
GOTCHA!
How I caught a 'Hit & Run' drunk driver on
film while visiting Zamboanga City in 1996

Photo by John L. Shinn III / L.A. Zamboanga Times Photo Archive

The photo above is actually a front page news clipping from Sun*Star Zamboanga.

*Gener works at the Fiscal's Office

     During a visit to Zamboanga in June 1996, my childhood friend Gener
Martinez* used his tricycle to drive me around town. One night as we were
on our way to the local skating rink, Gener's tricycle was sideswiped by a
speeding military jeep whose driver failed to stop after the accident. Luckily,
we were not hurt although the tricycle had damages to the windshield and
the front. The accident happened at the intersection near the Edward Andrews
Air Base in Sta. Maria around 10:30 pm.
    While Gener was checking for damages to his three-wheeler, I rode
another tricycle owned by a friend, and went to the direction of Tumaga
--- where the military jeep's driver took off after hitting us --- to search for
the hit-and-run driver . As we were going towards Tumaga, I saw the same jeep
heading back to our direction on Veteran's Avenue near the old Zamcelco plant.
I got out of the tricycle with my camera, adjusted the focus and popped up the
built-in flash.
   My intention was to try to get the driver to stop. As the jeep got closer I
instantly recognized the license plate number as the same jeep that hit us
and it dawned on me that this guy was drunk, will not stop and could be
armed and---obviously---dangerous.
    As the jeep reached my side I called on the driver to stop. Just as he
looked at my direction, I took one shot with my camera. I only had one
chance to take his picture.
    The flash apparently startled the driver who sped towards the downtown
area at a very high rate of speed and we lost him as we reached the
intersection where the Zamboanga General Hosital was located. I got back
to Gener and we both proceeded to the police station downtown to file a
complaint.

Photo by JOHN L. SHINN III / LA ZAMBOANGA TIMES
A police investigator (left) points to the broken windshield of Gener's
tricycle outside the police station in downtown Zamboanga City on
the night of the accident while Gener (right) looks on.

     Since we cannot positively identify the suspect, we had to wait for daybreak to have the film developed and see if the only picture I took can identify the Suspect in the hit and run accident.
    Gener came back around 9 am the next day carrying an 8-inch by 10-inch
color photo of the shot I took (see black and white photo above). We then went to the Sun*Star Zamboanga (formerly The Morning Times) and told our story to editor Rolly A. San Juan, who used the picture on the front page of next day's edition. After that we went back to the police station to formally file the complaint and give a copy of the picture---as evidence---to the officer assigned to the case.
    When the picture and my story came out, Sun*Star received several calls from people who identified the driver of the hit-and-run military vehicle. It turned out that the driver was Wilfredo Sodiacal, a Philippine Marines major who was assigned in Jolo as a battalion commander.
    Two days after the picture was published, the major---accompanied by his wife and driver---surrendered at the local police station. The officer handling the case immediately called me at home and Gener and I rushed to the station to confront the major.
    When we got there I was so touched with the major's humbleness and was convinced by his remorsefulness (see photo below) that Gener and I decided to drop the complaint (of hit-and-run) against him after he promised to pay for the damages to Gener's tricycle amounting to about 800 pesos.
    After that incident, the major and I became good friends and a few times that I went to Jolo to cover the Moro National Liberation Front and other stories there, he was kind enough to assign to me a jeep and a driver and an escort each time I was there.
    Before the accident there were numerous unsolved hit-and-run cases involving military personnel driving while under the influence of alcohol. In some of the accidents lives were lost and the erring drivers remained unidentified and at-large.
    This was the first time a military personnel driving under the influence and nvolved in a hit-and-run was caught red-handed and on camera. The incident became the talk of the town---and radio programs---for days thereafter.

L.A. Zamboanga Times founder-
editor, John (Boboy) Shinn III, above,
holds a copy of the Sun*Star
Zamboanga---the day the photo
was published on the front page
of the paper.

Photos by GENER MARTINEZ / LAZT
Philippine Marines Major Wilfredo Sodiacal (left) shakes hand with
John (Boboy) Shinn III (right) when the major surrendered to police
authorities two days after the hit-and-run accident. Shinn and his
childhood friend Gener Martinez withdrew their complaint against
Major Sodiacal saying, "If God can forgive, why can't we?"