Cop in Marikina road rage incident sacked

MANILA, Philippines — A police officer seen in a video confronting a fire truck driver for blowing the truck’s horn in Marikina was sacked from his post on Friday.

Col. Jenny Tecson, Marikina police chief, said the police corporal was “also directed to submit a written explanation to determine whether there is sufficient basis for a possible pre-charge.”

In the video, the policeman was overheard shouting profanities at the driver of the volunteer fire truck, asked him to show courtesy and demanded for his name before leaving the scene.

Tecson said the incident appears to be a misunderstanding, noting that it was unclear if the fire truck driver intended to proceed or stop.

“The truck followed closely and suddenly sounded its horn loudly, which startled the police officer,” Tecson said, adding that the officer and the fire truck owner have settled the incident amicably.

The Land Transportation Office has issued a show-cause order to the policeman, directing him to explain his action on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, Pasay police chief Col. Joselito de Sesto relieved two of his officers, a captain and a staff sergeant, for their failure to respond to a robbery in Barangay 190 on Wednesday.

Although the officers had said that they were serving a warrant of arrest at the time of the incident, De Sesto insisted on their relief.

“The issue here is that they didn’t react right on the spot,” De Sesto told The STAR in a message, noting that the patrol car the officers were using was parked only a few meters away from the scene.

According to De Sesto, 10 men cornered a Toyota Fortuner with three Filipinos and one Malaysian aboard and stole P4.8 million in cash and another P1 million in gold jewelry.

A follow-up operation led to the arrest of one of the suspects and the recovery of P81,000.