QC traffic man shot dead by bank security officer over P350-violation ticket

MANILA, Philippines — A Quezon City traffic enforcer was shot dead by a bank security officer while he was issuing a violation ticket during a Mabuhay Lane clearing operation on West Avenue Wednesday morning.

Enrique Fresnido, 60, a member of the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety, was shot in the head by Alex Batacan, 39, officer in charge of security at the BDO West Avenue-East Maya branch, around 7:30 a.m., according to a police report.

Fresnido was rushed to the Quezon City General Hospital where he was declared dead about three hours later.

Batacan was detained at the Quezon City Police District-Masambong Station and then turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit at the QCPD Headquarters.

Enforcers of the DPOS, the Highway Patrol Group and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority were clearing obstructions and towing motorcycles at Mabuhay Lanes in preparation for next week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

Some of the motorcycles belonged to the security guards and Batacan interfered, Roseller Arbolado, chief of enforcement section under the DPOS traffic operation division, said.

Instead of towing the motorcycles, Fresnido just wrote a ticket, as the enforcers were told to do when the owner of a vehicle was around, the victim’s colleagues said.

Apparently incensed, Batacan went inside the bank and came back with a gun. While Fresnido was writing the ticket, Batacan pointed his gun inside Fresnido’s helmet and shot him.

“We didn’t expect that he would do that for a P350-violation ticket,” a traffic enforcer said. (With Ria Consuelo Mendoza, Inquirer trainee).  SFM