MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte called out the city’s police district for giving a platform to a dismissed cop who pulled out a gun during an altercation with an unarmed cyclist.

“I’m not a lawyer or police, but as a regular citizen, I’m outraged that he was even given the platform to present his side. He didn’t even apologize. He even claims to be the aggrieved party,” Belmonte said in an interview with Radyo 630.

The former cop was Willy Gonzalez who served under the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

Based on the viral video taken on August 8, the cyclist was traversing Quezon Avenue near Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City when Gonzales’s car suddenly stopped in the bike lane. This resulted in the cyclist hitting the car.

Belmonte found the actions taken by the QCPD strange and wrong.

“Our QCPD seems to be agreeing as if he was the one saying, ‘Go ahead, give your side.’ It felt strange to me…There was something wrong, in my view,” she said.

On Facebook, lawyer Raymond Fortun posted a screenshot of his conversation with the unnamed cyclist, who claimed that he paid P500 to Gonzales and was forced into admitting that he hit the car. 

According to Fortun, a cycling advocate, the cyclist was allegedly coerced into agreeing that he was in the wrong.

On Monday, August 28, Belmonte also promised to protect and provide legal assistance to the cyclist.

On the other hand, the QCPD on Tuesday, said that a criminal complaint had already been filed against Gonzalez. – Rappler.com