NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez yesterday said Quezon City Police District officials committed lapses in handling the case of dismissed Quezon City policeman Wilfredo Gonzales.
In a television interview, Nartatez said Gonzales should have been arrested shortly after he physically assaulted and cocked a gun on an unarmed cyclist during a traffic altercation near Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City last August 8.
Gonzales and the cyclist went to the QCPD’s Galas police station after the confrontation and reached an amicable settlement. A video of the incident went viral on social media over the weekend.
“If only the concerned police station investigated it properly, the person of Wilfredo Gonzales should have been put into arrest,” said Nartatez.
It was learned last Wednesday that Gonzales, at the time of the incident, was employed with the office of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, who promptly fired the former cop.
Netizens took the Supreme Court to task for hiring Gonzales, noting he was dismissed from the police force due to grave misconduct.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, said they will craft measures to ensure the road rights of the public are protected.
Nartatez said police investigators should have immediately secured the closed-circuit television footage of the incident to enable them to establish what really happened.
“Brandishing a firearm on an unarmed civilian in a traffic altercation or during the incident is already a clear violation of the law,” added Nartatez.
Nartatez also asked why QCPD investigators allowed Gonzales and his victim to settle the case without a thorough investigation, adding the incident was not reported to resigned QCPD director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III and to him by the Galas police station.
“That’s one of the lapses and there are more,” said Torre, adding he only learned of the confrontation when the video of the incident went viral.
Nartatez also questioned why Torre presented Gonzales during a press conference last August 27, a move that made it appear the PNP was clearing Gonzales since he had reached a settlement with the still unnamed cyclist.
“What’s worse is they had a press conference and made it appear they were clearing him, that there was a settlement (between Gonzales and the cyclist), in the absence of the aggrieved party,” said Nartatez.
Torre submitted his resignation to higher authorities last Wednesday and apologized to the public for his actions. He said he resigned to pave the way for an impartial investigation against Gonzales.
Police filed an alarm and scandal case against Gonzales before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office last Tuesday, with the police standing as the complainant.
Authorities said they are studying if additional charges of grave threat and attempted homicide can be filed against Gonzales, without the participation of the cyclist, who has refused to file charges for fear of his and his family’s life.
Nartatez said has formed a team, headed by NCRPO deputy chief for operations Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Tamondong, to look into the lapses committed, including the presentation of Gonzales to members of the media.
“I created a probe team… that will look into the lapses he may have committed, the district director of QCPD, including the lapses of investigators in (the) Galas police station, including the chief of police of Galas, from August 8 until that day on August 27,” said Nartatez.
He said the PNP national headquarters has given a green light to the investigation.
SC UNDER FIRE
The Supreme Court and Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario are under fire from netizens after it was learned that Gonzales worked with the tribunal at the time of the incident.
Comments on social media showed that netizens were not appeased by the SC’s announcement last Wednesday that Rosario immediately fired Gonzales from his coterminous post after learning of the now-viral video showing the former cop physically assaulting and cocking his gun at the cyclist.
“It is rather embarrassing to contemplate, isn’t it? Being an employee of the SC, yet engaging in actions that contravene the law. Quite repugnant, indeed,” a netizen who goes by the handle @0506pweiqu said.
Another said the High Court should have been more stringent in hiring its employees, noting that Gonzales was dismissed from the PNP due to an administrative case.
“Funny how the Supreme Court makes it sound that they are exercising sound judgment by firing him. But the real question here is why did the SC hire an ex-cop who was dismissed from the service, to begin with,” a netizen who goes by the handle @masterShogi said.
The PNP earlier said Gonzales reached the compulsory retirement age of 56 in 2016 before the administrative case against him was resolved. He was dismissed from the service in 2018 based on that case.
Another netizen said he now understands why the cyclist declined to press charges against Gonzales while another said he could not understand why the SC hired someone dismissed from the PNP.
“He was dismissed from the PNP and yet was hired by the SC, that’s why he was that bold,” another said.
Another said the SC was like picking garbage and should not be respected.
The High Court has yet to provide additional details on Gonzales’s employment and his particular work in Rosario’s office.
The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs said it has summoned Gonzales to attend an inquiry on the incident on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
ROAD RAGE LAW
In a press conference, Zubiri said the Senate will pass the Proposed Road Rage Law that will mandate concerned government agencies to strictly implement provisions to protect the road-using public.
Zubiri said the incident involving retired policeman Wilfredo Gonzales will serve as a basis for coming up with the measure.
Zubiri made the assurance amid the recent road rage incidents in Metro Manila that had gone viral on social media, including the one involving Gonzales and another involving an active policeman and a retired army officer in Makati City.
Among the possible provisions of the proposed bill is the automatic revocation of gun licenses and confiscation of registered firearms when a motorist or an individual pulls out the firearm out during a road rage incident.
He said the driver’s license of an individual should also be suspended or revoked during such incidents.
Zubiri said the Department of Justice will have the power to automatically file charges against an erring individual or motorist even if the aggrieved party does not want to file charges.
“We will pass a special law, particularly on road rage, so that concerned government agencies will implement the proposed measures to protect motorists, cyclists, and the road-riding public. In this case, under the bill, automatic, motu propio, the DOJ can file a case without the offended party having to file a complaint on road rage incidents,” Zubiri said.
Senators have filed a resolution urging the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an investigation on the incident involving Gonzales, saying laws should be made to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Zubiri said the hearing on the resolutions they filed will be conducted on Tuesday next week under the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chaired by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Zubiri said road rage incidents happen almost daily but not all of them are captured on video. — With Ashzel Hachero and Raymond Africa
