THE dismissed cop in the viral video who threatened an unarmed cyclist has been ordered by the PNP leadership to return his retirement pay but has yet to do so, according to Sen. Francis Tolentino.
In an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo 630 yesterday, Tolentino said he received information that Wilfredo Gonzales was given his retirement pay when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 in 2016.
Before he retired, Gonzales faced an administrative case for grave misconduct that was resolved only in 2017. His motion for reconsideration was junked the next year.
He left the service with the rank of Police Officer 1, the lowest rank in the PNP hierarchy.
Tolentino said Gonzales’ refusal to return his retirement pay shows the dismissed cop’s total disregard for the law.
“It only shows that he disregarded the order for him to return the money to the government. That money was not for him because there was an order; his separation (pay) was forfeited because he was ordered dismissed from (the) service,” Tolentino said.
Gonzales, 63, physically assaulted and cocked his gun at a cyclist in a road rage incident in Quezon City last August.
He later surrendered to QC Police District Director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III who, in turn, presented him in a press conference. Torre resigned from his post after drawing flak from the public and government officials.
The Senate has scheduled a hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, on road rage incidents in the country so measures can be crafted to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drug chairman, earlier said his committee would conduct the investigation.
He said Gonzales has been invited to the hearing but if the dismissed cop refuses to attend, he will ask Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to issue a subpoena or an arrest order.
ADMINISTRATIVE RAPS
Lawyer Raymond Fortun has filed administrative charges against three traffic policemen from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) over the handling of Gonzales’ case.
The Quezon City government yesterday announced Fortun’s filing of the complaint before the city’s People’s Law Enforcement Board chaired by Rafael Vicente Calinisan.
Charged with oppression, irregularities in the performance of duties, and incompetence were Executive Master Sergeant Armando Carr, and Staff Sergeants Darwin Peralta and Joel Aviso.
The three are assigned with the QCPD’s Traffic Sector 4 which initially looked into the case of Gonzales.
In a statement, the Quezon City government said Gonzales and the cyclist were initially brought to the office of the Traffic Sector 4 in Kamuning, Quezon City since the case was first considered a traffic incident by responding members of the Galas police station.
Gonzales and the cyclist were later referred to the Galas police station where the two reached an amicable settlement. Police filed charges of alarm and scandal against Gonzales last week, days after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
“Despite the clear and imbalanced status of the parties, the same police officers failed to protect the rights of the cyclist when they failed to provide a legal counsel for him so that the latter would be duly appraised of his rights,” said Fortun.
Fortun said the policemen also failed to secure the close-circuit television footage in the area “in order to ferret out the real facts in the conflicting statements made by the parties.
“Finally, and for reasons known only to them, and despite there being sufficient basis to do so, the same police officers failed to file the appropriate charges,” said Fortun.
Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte lauded Fortun for filing the complaint, adding: “What we need now are little acts of heroism from ordinary Filipinos to stand up for what is right to exact accountability from those in power.
Belmonte said the Fortun’s filing of the charges before the PLEB “is a vote of confidence that here in Quezon City, we will get things done,” adding the PLEB process “will now take its course.
“This incident also highlights the need to institutionalize the presence of PLEB in other cities and municipalities to hear and decide the complaints filed against erring policemen. I am confident that the case filed in the PLEB will be handled without fear or favor,” said Belmonte.
Calinisan said PLEB will “act on this case with absolute dispatch.
“We commit to serve as an effective watchdog against abusive cops, and at the same time serve as partners to our men in uniform towards nation-building,” he said. — With Victor Reyes
