“Parang Ang Sama-Sama Kong Tao” Driver in Viral Road Rage Incident Says
No criminal charges have been filed as of yet.
(SPOT.ph) The driver involved in road rage incident that has gone viral asked the public to be more "responsible" when sharing videos in a press conference on August 27, with Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director General Nicolas Torre III adding that they made amends with the cyclist the same day the incident happened on August 8.
The man has since been identified as Wilfredo Gonzales, a retired police officer. This is what Gonzales had to say to the public:
“Ang paki-usap ko po sana… Sana ‘yung mga bloggers maging responsible sila. Hindi nila alam ang puno’t dulo, marami agad magcocomment. Hindi naman nila nakita ‘yung tunay na nangyari, ‘yung umpisa,” Gonzales said. “Kawawa naman mga anak ko, mga kapamilya ko. Parang ang sama-sama kong tao. Hindi naman mangyayari ‘yun kung hindi lang ako dumipensa lang din.”
When asked if he is currently a government employee by the media, he refused to comment: “Ang trabaho ko po, sa dati at sa ngayon, walang kinalaman sa kasong ito."
The incident gained widespread attention after an account of the confrontation went viral on Facebook. A separate post on August 27 by lawyer and cyclist Raymond Fortun asking for help identifying Gonzales reached over 184,000 reactions and 150,000 shares.
Also read: Road Rage Incident Goes Viral as People Try to Identify Gun-Wielding Driver
What happens to road rage driver Wilfredo Gonzales?
According to Torre, there is no criminal case filed against Gonzales so far. He added that Gonzales has also opted to surrender his weapon to the QCPD.
“Sa ngayon, dahil wala na nagcocomplain, wala tayong kasong hahawakan dito,” Torre said, adding that anyone is free to file a complaint. “Lahat naman ay puwede. Ang tanong, mapapalayo mo ba sa korte kung nagkasundo na?”
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has issued a show-cause order against Gonzales, which requires him to justify, explain, or prove something to the court.
LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza announced the issuance of the show-cause order through the agency's National Capital Region Director, Roque Verzosa III as reported by CNN on August 27. Mendoza also confirmed that an investigation into the incident is underway.
"We assure the public of our swift action on this matter," Mendoza said. "In as much as we want to immediately impose sanctions based on the viral video, we have to observe and respect due process, and this includes a fair conduct of investigation."
"My civic duty to let the public know"
In another post by Fortun, he stated that the original uploader of the video was also threatened with a case for bringing the incident to social media after the two had supposedly already made amends.
The original video has since been taken down.
“I hate bringing cases to be judged via social media. But this is one instance where it now becomes my social and civic duty to let the public know. The crimes of Attempted Homicide, Grave Threats and Slander by Deed have been captured on video. I ask for your prayers that attempts by people with guns to silence the victim and witnesses will not succeed.”
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