Vince Dizon fires 2 Cagayan LTO officials over karaoke bar assault
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon fires two officials of the Land Transportation Office Region 2 over an incident in a karaoke joint. Photo by Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Two officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Region 2 were sacked for allegedly physically assaulting two individuals at a karaoke lounge in Cagayan, Department of Transport (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon said on Monday.
Dizon named the two LTO officials as Assistant Regional Director of LTO Region 2 Manuel Baricaua and Chief Enforcer Charles Ursulum.
“These two were immediately relieved from duty. And I wrote to the Office of the President, to Executive Secretary [Lucas] Bersamin, seeking for the permanent removal of the Assistant Regional Director of Region 2,” Dizon, speaking in Filipino, said in a press conference.
READ: LTO Baguio exec sacked over drunk driving rap
According to a statement from the Police Regional Office 2 (PRO2) on Saturday, the incident occurred on June 4, with victims identified as “Vanessa,” a 20-year-old singer; “Rey,” a 15-year-old individual; and “Topher,” a 20-year-old.
The PRO2 reported that “Vanessa” was forced to stay beside the regional director, and despite “Vanessa” and her mother’s defiance, she was still ordered to do so. The PRO2 added that the two officials went to “Rey” and “Topher” and slapped them for no reason.
“I have asked Asec. Vigor Mendoza to reach out to the victims, and to assist in any way in the filing of charges, I would assume, physical assault charges against these two people,” Dizon added.
Dizon also said that no investigation was needed, as the viral video already showed that the two individuals were physically assaulted.
According to the PRO2, a formal complaint was submitted to the City’s Prosecutor’s Office last June 13 and will be endorsed to the Office of the Prosecutor on June 16.
Appeal to netizens
Meanwhile, Dizon expressed gratitude to the citizens who uploaded the incident on social media. One of the viral videos has already garnered over 9,000 reactions, 4,000 comments, and 8,000 shares on Facebook.
“To our constituents, if you see any problem or abuse related to public transport, upload it immediately,” he said.
Dizon told netizens that they should not be scared or hesitate to report incidents involving officials of DOTr and its other attached agencies. He also urged them to tag the DOTr and its attached agencies on their videos.
“You will not be caught up with this. Don’t be afraid. This is a way to protect you,” he added. /mr/abc
