SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday, October 5, denied involvement in the traffic disruption caused by the closure of a portion of Commonwealth Avenue by the Quezon City Police Department (QCPD).
“The Vice President did not ask QCPD and will never ask government agencies, including law enforcement bodies, to carry out actions that would inconvenience the public or cause them harm,” the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said in a statement.
The OVP said that Duterte has been in Mindanao since Wednesday, October 4, for the World Teacher’s Day activities.
The OVP was reacting to a viral video on social media which showed the police stopping traffic flow along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, as the Vice President was supposed to pass through the area. This angered motorists and Filipinos online, saying that it caused so much inconvenience.
Duterte wrote to QCPD to probe the incident and asked them to “rectify the falsehood.”
In her letter, Duterte asked the police officer involved to “issue a public apology to all who have been inconvenienced by this deception.”
“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.
QCPD sorry for mishap
In a separate statement on Thursday night, QCPD apologized for the inconvenience the incident brought to the motoring public. It said that the incident stemmed from a confusion and lapse in judgement of their police officers 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,” they said.
Police Lieutenant Colonel May Genio said that the cop in the viral video mistakenly heard “VP” so he decided to clear the traffic as a “sign of courtesy and security, where in fact, based on records, VP Sara Duterte has no engagement in that particular area.”
“Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa aking maling nagawa. Patawarin nyo po ako. Akala ko po talaga may dadaan na VIP. Saad ni PEMs Pantallano,” the QCPD quoted the police officer in its statement.
(I am sorry for the mistake I made. Forgive me. I thought that a VIP will pass through, as said by PEMs Pantallano.)
Genio ordered the relief of the policeman while the QCPD probed the incident.
“I have ordered the relief of my policeman and put him under investigation to determine administrative liability for his actions. We assure the public that this incident will not happen again,” Genio said. – Rappler.com
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