Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent George Regis has formed a special investigation team to look into a security guard’s allegation that he was beaten up by Lanao del Sur Representative Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman.
The team will be headed by Supt. Jesus Balingasa.
The alleged victim, meanwhile, failed to show up for work on Tuesday even as the congressman denied that he laid a hand on the UP Ayala-Technohub worker.
Based on a complaint he filed with the Anonas Police Station for physical injuries, Ricardo Bonayog, 33, said that at around 9:30 p.m. on August 31, he was on duty at the Technohub when he was mauled by a man driving a silver Porsche Carrera.
The QCPD Station 9 chief, Supt. Osmundo de Guzman, said that he called up Bonayog’s employer, Eagle Watch Security Agency, on Tuesday to ask if the guard would pursue his complaint against the congressman.
“He only came here once and [he] didn’t come back after he filed the [complaint]. At that time, we didn’t know the complaint was against a congressman,” De Guzman added.
According to the security guard, he was manning his post when the Porsche with the number “8” license plate drove toward him, backed up by a red Toyota Innova (plate number PCI 150).
Bonayog said that for unknown reasons, the man driving the luxury vehicle got irked when he tried to check the car as part of security measures. He added that the man punched him several times, causing him “to fall on the ground” in front of witnesses.
In a television interview, Bonayog said that he was just being careful because he was up against a congressman. He also expressed his intention to ask the Commission on Human Rights for help.
For his part, Pangandaman, who figured in a brawl at an exclusive golf club in 2008, denied that he beat up the guard.
Pangandaman said that he hit the guard with a sheaf of papers on the head to defend himself after the latter tried to draw his gun.
In an official statement, the management of UP-Ayala Land Technohub confirmed the incident but did not identify the congressman.
“The drivers of the said vehicles allegedly refused to go through the usual security check required at the parking facility. The owner of the vehicle allegedly punched the security guard assigned during that time,” Jorge Marco and Suzette Naval of Ayala Land said.