Congressional probe into gun-toting incidents in Quezon City sought

MANILA, Philippines – The gun-toting incident involving a dismissed policeman in a road rage altercation warrants an investigation as it was not an isolated case, two lawmakers insisted on Wednesday, August 30.

Representatives Rodge Gutierrez and Bonifacio Bosita of party-list group 1-Rider filed House Resolution No. 1231, called on the House committees on justice and public order to look into the August 8 incident, in which car driver Willy Gonzales pulled a gun on an unarmed cyclist near Welcome Rotonda.

“The act of brandishing a gun in front of the cyclist is a form of coercion and abuse of authority, authority that the dismissed police officer no longer holds, yet he still feels entitled to,” the lawmakers said.

The two lawmakers also referred to a separate incident in June, in which a Quezon City prosecutor hit a delivery rider while holding a gun.

Both incidents were caught on camera.

“The actions exhibited by the Quezon City Prosecutor and dismissed police officer are not isolated incidents, as there are other individuals in government who abuse their authority and privilege of owning and carrying firearms in public,” they added.

Resolution No. 1231 is still a proposal, and it is up to the House committees if they will take it up.

The infamous road rage controversy involving Gonzales has led to the resignation of Quezon City Police District (QCPD) district director Nicolas Torre III, whose office was heavily criticized over its handling of the incident.

Mayor Joy Belmonte also called out the QCPD for giving Gonzales a platform, as the police district organized a press conference for Gonzales, who did not even categorically apologize to the cyclist.

Gonzales, a police officer of more than two decades, once served at the QCPD, but he was an errant cop who experienced numerous demotions and was dismissed from service due to grave misconduct. – with reports from Rachel Ivy Reyes/Rappler.com

Rachel Ivy Reyes is the news editor of Outcrop, the official student paper of the University of the Philippines Baguio. She currently volunteers for Rappler.