Quezon City Police District chief, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, yesterday bristled at social and mainstream media commentaries that said he gave special treatment to Wilfredo Gonzales, the ex-cop in a viral road rage video, during a press conference on Sunday.
Saying he did not want to sound arrogant, Torre nonetheless pointed out that Gonzales, who held the lowest police rank of PO1 when he was dismissed in 2006, was way below his “pay grade” as a general to receive any special favors from him.
Gonzales’s dismissal became final in 2017, a year after he reached the Philippine National Police’s mandatory retirement age of 56.
A complaint for alarm and scandal was filed against Gonzales yesterday morning by the QCPD.
“This is my answer to that, which is very simple because, on my part, the special treatment was alluded to me,” Torre told reporters in Filipino and English. “The guy is a retired or dismissed policeman — PNCO (police non-commissioned officer), way below my salary grade.”
“What can he offer for me to gamble my service? I have not been with him; I don’t know him. We haven’t known each other longer than 30 minutes… for me to give him special treatment in front of the media,” he added.
Many netizens felt that the press conference called by Torre gave Gonzales a platform to justify what he did to the cyclist and to turn the tables on the vlogger who uploaded the video.
Reacting to the alleged special treatment, Philippine National Police chief, General Benjamin Acorda, said he would not tolerate any irregularities committed by police officers, thus the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management has been tasked to look into all complaints against cops.
Before the video was taken down, Torre commented on a social media post that Gonzales, whom he called “kalbo” or bald, would do well to surrender before he unleashed his Special Weapons and Tactics team on him.
Torre added that the SWAT team members may just become “nervous” in trying to serve a search warrant on Gonzales and may just fire their M16 rifles at him. He deleted the comment before the video itself was deleted by the vlogger.
According to Torre, alarm and scandal carries a fine of up to P40,000 and jail time of approximately six years. He called on the cyclist, witnesses, and the vlogger to come forward to bolster their case against Gonzales.
Gonzales has been stripped of his four guns and their corresponding licenses, registrations, and permits to carry. His driver’s license has been suspended for 90 days by the Land Transportation Office.