Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Raffy Tulfo are seeking a Senate investigation into the rampant road rage incidents that often involve the use of firearms and endangering innocent lives
Tulfo and Zubiri filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 769 after Wilfredo Gonzales, a dismissed police officer, was caught on video assaulting and brandishing a gun at a cyclist in Quezon City last Aug. 27.
Under the resolution, Tulfo and Zubiri said the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and other relevant authorities are directed to implement stricter regulations and penalties on road rage incidents involving threats to pull firearms in public.
Despite a lawmaker’s criticism of its “trigger-happy” culture, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said fewer of its officers were misbehaving.
Earlier, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro cited a Navotas police operation that killed a 17-year-old due to supposed mistaken identity, a police officer who accidentally shot dead another teenager in Rizal, and the viral road rage incident where an ex-policeman brandished a gun in front of a cyclist.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Police Brigadier General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. meanwhile said there were lapses in the investigation on the viral road rage video involving Gonzales.
Nartatez said if only the Galas Police Station in Quezon City investigated properly and obtained footage of the incident, Gonzales should have been arrested. Nartatez said the press conference of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) with Gonzales on August 27 made the situation worse.
Gonzales said he and the cyclist went to the police station following the incident and settled the matter.
Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas on Thursday demanded accountability from Quezon City Police District (QCPD) chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III following his resignation, saying that it is “an attempt to evade public scrutiny and outrage.”
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday ordered the People’s Law Enforcement Board to investigate as to what actually transpired during the amicable settlement between the cyclist and Gonzales.
PLEB lawyer-executive officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan said the Station 11 commander of the Quezon City Police District, Lt. Col. Jake Barila has a lot of explaining to do in connection with the gun-toting incident involving former policeman Wilfredo Gonzales as seen in a viral video.
He clarified that the probe is meant to determine whether protocols were followed and whether administrative lapses were committed.
Any complaint filed against the Galas police station in relation to the conduct of settlement procedures would be tried, and the personnel involved may be held accountable for grave misconduct and oppression punishable by dismissal from the service or suspension.
Calinisan also questioned the propriety of the QCPD’s move to host a press conference with Gonzalez last Aug. 27, giving the ex-policeman a platform to air only his side.
On the other hand, the city council is conducting its own public hearing and investigation.
She lamented the statement given by the cyclist, who stressed that he and Gonzales already reached an amicable settlement and that he was no longer keen on filing charges.
“However, the sad truth is that in the absence of a complainant, a strong criminal case cannot prosper,” she added.
Given the public clamor for the cyclist to come out, the city mayor expressed hope that he would have a change of heart and pursue his complaint in the interest of justice and public safety. With Rio N. Araja, Maricel V. Cruz