NEWLY-minted Vice Mayor Sixto “Pogi” Mallari of Arayat town is now the subject of a complaint after two men accused him of pointing a gun at them while driving along the Mexico portion of the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA) recently.
Jayvee Evangelista and Raymark Montoya, both residents of Mexico town, filed a complaint at the Mexico Police Station against Mallari on Sunday morning, June 30, 2019, a week after the said incident that transpired in Barangay San Jose Malino.
Evangelista narrated that he was driving a motorcycle along JASA with Montoya as his rider when a white sports utility vehicle (SUV) behind them honked as a supposed signal to overtake.
“Mamusina ya pu pero ali miya pegbigyan. Ngeni neng kadwa ng pamamusina, masikan pu. Kaybat sasali kami pu sanang yelu karin kaya tinuknang ku pero ni-cut na kami pu. Kaybat binaba ya pu itang pasaheru, dinakut ya pu ketang baril na kaybat tinutuk ne pu kaku,” Evangelista said.
(The driver was honking at us but we did not let him overtake us. After that, he honked loudly. We then stopped to buy ice at the store but he suddenly cut us, and a man from the passenger side alighted from the vehicle, drew a gun from his bag and then pointed it at me.)
Shocked by the incident, Evangelista said he immediately said sorry to the passenger and pushed the gun away. The passenger then went back to the vehicle and drove away.
The whole incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed along the major thoroughfare, the footage of which was presented as evidence along with a 9mm gun, before the Mexico police force.
When asked about the identity of the armed person, Evangelista recognized him as tall, with fair skin and facial hair, and later identified him as Mallari.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilson Alicuman, Mexico town police chief, personally received the complaint of Evangelista and Montoya.
He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has a specialized unit that can work on the quality enhancement of the CCTV footage.
“They can ask for assistance of the PNP Cybercrime Unit to enhance the quality of the video which can help us in determining the identification of the individual involved in the said incident,” he said.