The inconvenience brought to the motoring public due to stopping the traffic flow along Commonwealth westbound in Quezon City early this week is not because of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Thus, said the Quezon Police Station 14 in a statement issued Thursday night after a video shared by former Bayan Muna party-list solon Teddy Casiño made the rounds on social media.
The video Casiño reposted on X (formerly Twitter) early Thursday afternoon showed a portion of Commonwealth being cleared of vehicles and a policeman saying that Duterte is expected to pass by the busy road.
“The said incident stemmed from a confusion and lapse in judgment of our policeman manning the traffic during that time,” the statement read. “It appears that our policeman overreacted when he stopped the traffic for a few minutes, because of misleading information he overheard. “
Records showed Duterte has no engagement in the area. She was in Mindanao on Monday for the celebration of World Teachers Day and other activities.
The police personnel, identified in the statement as Sgt. Verdo Pantallano was said to have mistakenly heard the word VP; hence, he decided to clear the traffic as a sign of courtesy and security.
Pantallano reportedly apologized for his misgivings.
“Please forgive me. I thought it was because of a VIP (very important person),” he was quoted as saying in Filipino.
Lt. Col May Genio, PS 14 station commander, said the video uploader can be heard mentioning the name of VP Sara.
“I have ordered the relief of my policeman and put him under investigation to determine administrative liability for his actions. We assure the public that this incident will not happen again,” Genio said.
Injurious, false
Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President said the viral video is injurious information purely grounded in falsity.
The OVP, in a statement, informed the public that Vice President Sara Duterte was not involved in the traffic disruption.
“The Vice President did not ask QCPD and will never ask government agencies, including law enforcement bodies, to carry out actions that would inconvenience the public or cause them harm,” the statement read.
It added that Duterte “will always put the interest and welfare of the public over her own personal interest and privileges.”
The OVP earlier requested the QCPD to conduct an investigation and hold all those responsible accountable for their actions, including the liability of the person who took the video and maliciously appended the traffic stop to the Vice President.