Senate pushes road rage law passage

The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Tuesday wrapped up its investigation into the viral road rage incident in Quezon City involving a cyclist and a former police officer.

During the hearing, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri sought the passage of a special law that would compel the police to act as the complainant in road rage cases if the aggrieved parties refuse to file charges.

Senators Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito and Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa both challenged the claim of ex-cop Wilfredo Gonzales that the cyclist, Allan Bandiola, hit his car with a knuckled rider's glove.

Ejercito and Dela Rosa, the panel chair, confronted Gonzales with screenshots from the viral video that showed Bandiola was not wearing knuckled gloves. The video showed Gonzales hitting Bandiola and then cocking his gun on the cyclist.

Dela Rosa initially thought Gonzales would not attend the hearing after the latter had presented a medical certificate with a doctor's advice for him to rest. "At least, he came. Luckily he appeared today, so there was no need to issue a subpoena," Dela Rosa said.

Gonzales said he regretted his actions. "I apologize for that part, for hitting him, for pulling out and pointing a gun. I apologize to everyone, not just to him (Bandiola), but to all of you. It was my fault, I was just in shock," Gonzales said in Filipino.

The dismissed cop claimed that Bandiola had acted as if he would attack him, prompting him to pull out his gun. He said he was just defending himself because he was recovering from an operation.

"I just came from a spine operation. So I thought I should shock him so he wouldn't hurt me. Because if he caught me, he might kill me since I was weak. I am still recovering from an operation," he said.

Bandiola admitted he thought of retaliating when Gonzales hit him on the head.

"That was just my normal reaction because he hit me. That's why I got off my bike," he said.

He said that he had settled the matter with Gonzales at the police station.