Driver presses raps vs political scion

“Why would you do that to my family?” asked the stunned driver, his head still ringing after taking a punch from his drunk boss who had also threatened to kill his loved ones.

“Trip ko lang (I just feel like it),” the boss replied.

This was allegedly part of the exchange between Albertito Lopez III, a son of a former Iloilo congressman, and his family driver, according to the criminal complaint filed by the latter against his former employer in connection with a Feb. 23 incident in Makati City.

After reporting the incident to the police, Teofilo Gabelo Jr. went on to get a lawyer and filed a complaint-affidavit in the city prosecutor’s office. The document described how Lopez III went berserk for no apparent reason other than the long time the driver took to buy chicken steak for him at a restaurant.

Gabelo, who packed up and left his boss’ Dasmariñas Village residence immediately after the incident, sued Lopez for slight physical injuries and grave threats.

Albertito III is the son of former Iloilo Rep. Albertito Lopez and former Gov. Emily Lopez. Gabelo, a 51-year-old resident of Silverio Compound, Parañaque City, said he was hired by the political scion last year.

In his March 4 affidavit prepared by the Martelino Bacungan Benitez Law Office, Garbelo claimed he was physically and verbally assaulted by Lopez while they were waiting for his order at a restaurant at the corner of Jupiter Street and Makati Avenue in the early morning of Feb. 23.

He said they had just left a condominium in Makati where Lopez had a “drinking spree” with his friends until 2 a.m. On their way home, Lopez asked him to stop at a restaurant to order four servings of chicken to-go.

Lopez, who stayed in the vehicle, lost his temper and got off when it took the driver a long time to return with the food, the complainant said.

He then entered the restaurant and “was swaying left to right because of drunkenness,” the complainant recalled.

“And without saying anything, (he) punched me in the middle of my chest. I fell onto the chair nearest me,” Gabelo added. “After I fell, the respondent kept cursing me like a madman.”

Threats, more punches

“While yelling and causing a scandal in the restaurant, the respondent punched me again in the head, near my right ear, ” he said.

Gabelo said his boss also threatened to kill his wife and children, and that he did not stop cursing and making threats even while he was already driving him home. And then “he hit me again just behind my ear,” he said.

“I asked him, ‘Why would you do that to my family?’” Gabelo said. The respondent allegedly answered: “Trip ko lang.”

“Why not just fire me?” the driver again asked. Still blurting out profanities, Lopez snarled back: “Kayong mga p–ang driver, walang batas sa inyo, kami lang mga mayayaman ang mayroong batas.” (You drivers, you don’t have laws. It’s only for us rich people.)”

Gabelo left Lopez’s house before dawn that same day. But before leaving, he said, he had his belongings checked by Lopez’s cook and the guard at the Dasmariñas gate.

In an interview on March 11, Lopez dismissed the punching incident as mere “lies” and claimed that Gabelo, when he left his house, also stole cash worth P50,000 from his car.

Lopez also noted that Gabelo had also gone to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to file complaints for illegal termination and nonpayment of wages.

Sought for comment on Saturday concerning the complaint filed in the prosecutor’s office, Lopez said in a text message: “What kind of a person decides to file a case weeks after a supposed incident?”

“It’s weird that at the DOLE he wants a financial settlement, when it is very clear that he signed vouchers for his salary. The last voucher was signed on Feb. 15 and he left us on Feb. 23 or 24,” Lopez said.

In February 2009, Lopez also faced a complaint for grave threats filed by a Iloilo-based journalist.

Francis Allan Angelo, executive editor of the local newspaper Daily Guardian, claimed that Lopez threatened to kill him if he did not stop staring at him while they were inside a restaurant in the Mandurriao district in October 2008.

Lopez denied Angelo’s allegations, which were supported by two eyewitnesses, including a lawyer. With Rafael Antonio, Inquirer Research