THE cyclist and the armed dismissed cop who were involved in an altercation in Quezon City faced off on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, as the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs opened its inquiry into the road rage incident.
For the first time since the incident went viral, Allan Badiola, the cyclist who was physically assaulted and threatened by dismissed cop, Wilfredo Gonzales, went public.
He said that on August 8, while he was on his way home along Quezon Avenue, he tapped a car driven by Gonzales after it occupied the bike line where he was at.
“Ang pagkakamali ko ‘yung pagtapik doon nagsimula, if hindi ko ginawa yun hindi kami hahantong sa ganung senaryo,” said Badiola.
(My mistake was the tapping that started, if I hadn't done that we wouldn't have ended up in that scenario.)
He denied cursing and giving Gonzales a bad finger as the latter earlier claimed.
Badiola said he then took over Gonzales, which in return chased him.
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The next thing that happened was the scene caught on camera by another motorist where Gonzales got off his vehicle and hit Badiola in his head before cocking his firearm on him.
Badiola said a security guard intervened during the confrontation, urging him to calm down as Gonzales has a gun.
He said police later arrived and they all went to the barangay to look for the CCTV footage.
The two were then brought to the Quezon City Traffic Sector and later to the Galas Police Station.
Badiola said that at first, he was determined to file a case against but changed his mind considering the stress and hassle it may cause him.
He said he then talked to Gonzales and offered to pay him for the damage sustained by his car.
They both agreed to pay Gonzales P2,500 in tranches. Initially, he paid P500.
He said they settled the matter peacefully.
Badiola denied assumptions that he was coerced considering that Gonzales is also a former policeman.
He said the police were nice to him as they also assured his safety.
“Sabi ko paano naman ‘yung safety ko pauwi sabi nila wala (pulis) daw mangyayari sa akin at kung meron man daw huhulihin nila agad si Mister Gonzales dahil wala naman ibang gagawa noon at siya agad daw ang person of interest,” said Badiola.
(I said what about my safety on the way home, but they said nothing (police) would happen to me and if anything, they would arrest Mister Gonzales immediately because there was nothing else to suspect then, so he was immediately the person of interest.)
He said one of the policemen even invited him to join them in eating.
Badiola said he no longer has a hidden grudge against Gonzales.
For his part, Gonzales narrated almost the same thing aside from he maintained that Badiola cursed at him and gave him a bad finger, which triggered him.
He also said that Badiola’s tapping using his hand with a glove with hard plastic caused a dent on his vehicle.
Badiola denied wearing gloves during the incident.
Senator JV Ejercito also showed photos supporting Badiola’s statement that he was not wearing any gloves during their encounter.
Gonzales said he left his firearm at the police station as ordered by the head of the police station.
He explained that he only did that to pacify the cyclist whom he thought would attack him.
It was also revealed during the hearing that Gonzales had been facing several blotter reports in their barangay, which include grave coercion and light and grave threat.
Gonzales repeatedly apologized over his outburst, which made him pull out his gun.
Badiola’s son Earl was also present during the hearing as he tried to convince his father to file a criminal case against Gonzales to prevent possible similar incidents in the future.
The older Badiola maintained, though, that they already settled the matter. (SunStar Philippines)