The chief of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has filed his resignation three days after holding a press conference with the ex-policeman involved in the road rage incident that went viral over the long weekend.
“I already submitted my resignation today effective tomorrow,” Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III told Inquirer.net on August 30. “I have to spare the PNP from any other [issue].”
Prior to this, Torre reiterated in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview that the QCPD has filed an alarm and scandal case against dismissed policeman Wilfredo Gonzales: “While waiting for the complainant, we deemed it necessary and proper to already take action and file the case of alarm and scandal because this crime does not need any complainant and the public represented by the police can do so.”
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Gonzales was caught on video threatening an unnamed cyclist with a gun after the latter’s bicycle made contact with the vehicle he was driving. Both were in a bike lane near Welcome Rotonda at the border of Quezon City and Manila.
The incident happened on August 8, and on the same day, Gonzales and the cyclist went to a QCPD station and eventually agreed to settle the case. A video of the incident went viral over the long weekend, however, prompting calls from public officials, government agencies, and private citizens to hold Gonzales accountable for his actions, especially after his past cases and dismissal records from the police force came to light.
On Sunday, August 27, Gonzales held a press conference with Torre at the QCPD headquarters to address the viral video. The QCPD chief was subsequently criticized for appearing to favor and protect the dismissed cop. Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City later ordered an investigation on the QCPD’s handling of the incident.
“I really regret that press conference. I really regret that deeply,” Torre said. “I really apologize to the Filipino people for those actions. Those are decisions made within a very short span of time. In hindsight—which gives us a 2020 vision, a perfect vision—talagang pag tiningnan, I could have done it better.”
He added: “The thing that I really want to do is pave way for impartial investigation...by relinquishing my position so mawala ang agam-agam na I am influencing in any way the course of this investigation.”
Gonzales has been stripped of his license to own and possess firearms, firearm registration, and permit to carry firearms. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has also issued him and the registered owner of the vehicle he was driving a Show Cause Order, and suspended his driver’s license for 90 days. The cyclist is now being encouraged to come forward so that necessary charges may be filed against Gonzales.
