“Our Policeman Overreacted”: QCPD Removes Own for Blocking Commonwealth in Viral Incident
There was a lapse in judgment, the QCPD said.
(SPOT.ph) The Quezon City Police Department (QCPD) has released a statement of apology over the viral incident of a policeman stopping traffic flow along Commonwealth westbound to allegedly let a “VIP” pass, as seen in the video posted by former house representative Teodoro Casiño on X (formerly Twitter) on October 5.
There was no mention of a name at first, but when the man taking the video asked “Si VP Sara?” to the policeman, the latter can be heard confirming this.
The unidentified man proceeded to tell motorists that it was Vice President Sara Duterte who had the roads blocked so she could pass by—a claim that Duterte called “outright false.” The policeman has been identified as PSgt. Pantallano.
“The said incident stemmed from a confusion and lapse in judgment of our policeman manning the traffic during that time. It appears that our policeman overreacted when he stopped the traffic for a few minutes, because of misleading information he overheard,” QCPD said in a statement.
PSgt. Pantallano has since been relieved from his post over the issue as per QCPD.
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QCPD and VP Sara Duterte issue statement over viral video incident in Commonwealth
According to QCPD’s statement, PSgt. Pantallano heard the word VP—it is unclear from who—and called for the road closure “as a sign of courtesy and security” to Duterte.
“Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa aking maling nagawa. Patawarin niyo po ako, at akala ko po talaga may dadaan na VIP,” PSgt. Pantallano said in the same QCPD statement.
Duterte has also issued a statement of her own following the incident.
“I want to emphasize that neither I nor my office ever made any request for assistance from the QCPD to orchestrate such an action. The claims in the video are not only misleading but also outright false. I strongly condemn any actions that disrupt the daily lives and well-being of our fellow citizens,” Duterte said in a letter to QCPD District Director PBGen. Redrico Maranan.
It can be recalled that Duterte has been in Augusan del Norte since Wednesday, October 4, where she attended the 122nd Police Service Anniversary of the Philippine National Police Regional Office 13 and the World Teacher’s Day Celebration.
Station Commander May Genio assured the public that this will not happen again.
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