Cyclist, ‘road rage’ ex-cop meet again in Senate
FACE-OFF | Dismissed police officer Wilfredo Gonzales (left) and biker Allan Bandiola meet again as the Senate conducts an investigation of the road rage incident involving them. (Photos by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Police had refused to arrest the dismissed cop in the Aug. 8 road rage incident in Quezon City after the cyclist reported to them that he had pulled a gun on him.
One of the officers explained that they could not arrest the former policeman, Wilfredo Gonzales, “because they did not see him carry a gun,” recounted the cyclist, Allan Bandiola.
That was the narrative that Bandiola presented at a hearing on Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs — which Gonzales also attended after initially declining the Senate’s invitation.
Bandiola, who had earlier declined requests for interviews, said he had decided at length to appear at the Senate, to recount what happened last month at the Welcome Rotunda area in Quezon City, as captured in a viral video.
Bandiola said he still feared for his safety and that of his family even if he would no longer press charges.
Questioned by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, the committee chair, the cyclist said he was not forced by anyone to enter into a settlement with Gonzales, who had claimed earlier that Bandiola had paid P500 for the dent on his car.
Bike lane
The video showed the cyclist avoiding Gonzales’ vehicle as it entered the bike lane along E. Rodriguez Avenue before swerving toward Bandiola’s path.
Bandiola admitted tapping Gonzales’ car thrice to point out to Gonzales that he nearly sideswiped him.
He denied hitting the roof of Gonzales’ car but acknowledged that his bike’s handlebar scraped against the dismissed policeman’s vehicle.
The cyclist recalled appealing to the police, including one whom he identified only as “Sir Adan,” to “look at the cameras and check if he [Gonzales] had a gun.”
But police were also distracted at that time by other traffic accidents being reported at their station, Bandiola said.
“Sir Adan advised me that I should not hit any car because ‘you don’t know if the driver is going through something or short-tempered,’” he remembered the policeman telling him.
Bandiola said he chose to just settle the matter with Gonzales after realizing that he would be inconvenienced if he pursued a complaint against him.
‘Anger management’
Gonzales, in his turn addressing the committee, apologized for his actions as shown in the video.
But he also claimed that Bandiola cursed and flashed a middle finger at him, which was why he lost his temper.
Furthermore, he accused the cyclist of punching the roof of his car with a plastic knuckle supposedly attached to Bandiola’s hand gloves.
But Sen. JV Ejercito, a cyclist and a motorcycle enthusiast, pointed out that the video clearly showed that Bandiola wasn’t wearing gloves.
“As a biker myself, I know that you don’t use that kind of gloves when you use a bike. That is commonly used when you drive a motorcycle,” Ejercito said.
Dela Rosa, also a motorcycle rider, agreed with Ejercito, saying, “This [ video] does not lie… If you mentioned that in [your earlier interviews], don’t do that here. You cannot fool this committee.”
Ejercito also cited blotter reports from several years back which showed that Gonzales had been the subject of at least 10 complaints, including those filed by his neighbors.
One such complaint by a member of the barangay council in Gonzales’ neighborhood had accused him of assault.
“How was he allowed to own a gun? It seems that Gonzales has an anger management problem,” Ejercito said.
Dela Rosa, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, said a dismissed officer like Gonzales should not have been given a gun license since it violated PNP policy.
Speaking with reporters after the hearing, Dela Rosa said Gonzales should have been held for grave threats and frustrated homicide instead of the lighter offense of alarm and scandal.
“He has a violent tendency,” the senator said. “There’s no justification for his actions.”
