QC task force members who hit vendor face suspension, grave misconduct case

MANILA, Philippines —The Quezon City government is “strongly considering”  suspending and filing administrative complaints against members of the Office of the Mayor’s Task Force Disiplina for hitting a street vendor with a piece of wood on Panay Avenue in Barangay South Triangle.

In a television interview with the ABS-CBN news program “TV Patrol,” lawyer Niño Casimiro, Quezon City legal officer, said the officials involved in the incident face possible preventive suspension of 60 days and a case of grave misconduct.

“Our investigation is still ongoing and, based on what we saw, we are strongly considering preventive suspension for a maximum of 60 days and filing a case for grave misconduct for the admin aspect,” Casimiro said, speaking partly in Filipino.

Meanwhile, the city legal office will ask the vendor, who is staying at Quezon City Police District Station 10 in Kamunin, if he would file a criminal complaint against officials.

A contributed video shows members of the Mayor’s Task Force Disiplina hitting a vendor with a piece of wood for not complying with the rules of the enhanced community quarantine. The task force members were acting on a complaint from barangay officials that the vendor was not wearing a face mask.

The task force member even carried and dragged the vendor towards a government vehicle.

Casimiro said the vendor was brought to a government hospital for a medical checkup. Based on the medico-legal report, the victim had “abrasions.”

But the task force members said they exerted “reasonable force” on the victim for not cooperating with them, according to Casimiro.

/atm