Vice President Sara Duterte has denied allegations that her convoy was to blame for the traffic jam on Commonwealth Avenue that was captured on a popular video.
On October 5, the video started to go viral on social media. At the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Tandang Sora Avenue, the unidentified person filming the incident asked a Quezon City Police District (QCPD) officer why traffic was backing up.
Vice Presidential convoy allegedly caused Commonwealth Avenue traffic disruption
She was in Mindanao for World Teacher’s Day, according to a statement from Duterte’s Office of the Vice President (OVP). The OVP also included a copy of a letter that Duterte signed and addressed to the QCPD.
Sinarado ang isa sa pinaka busy na kalsada sa bansa dahil tatawid ang isang ViP? Grabe naman yan.
— Teddy Casiño (@teddycasino) October 5, 2023
Sent to me by an ex-military man. pic.twitter.com/hybUl2vo9y
“I want to emphasize that neither I nor my office ever made any request for assistance from the QCPD to orchestrate such an action,” the letter said. “The allegations in the video are not only deceptive; they are also flatly incorrect. Any actions that interfere with our other citizens’ daily life and wellbeing are firmly condemned by me. I would always work to ensure the welfare and convenience of the Filipino people.I request the QCPD to look into this occurrence in light of the current circumstances and hold those accountable. In addition, I implore the QCPD to correct this misrepresentation and publicly explain the genuine cause for the road closure, including identifying the purported VIP who made the request. Finally, I ask that the concerned police officer and the district director of the QCPD publicly apologize to everyone who has been put out by this ruse.
The QCPD has also issued a statement, claiming that “the said incident resulted from a confusion and error in judgment of our policeman manning the traffic at that time.”
It seems that our policeman overreacted when he temporarily stopped traffic due to false information he overheard.
Accordingly, Sgt. Pantollano misheard “VP” and chose to stop traffic as a courtesy and security measure, even though, according to the records, VP Sara Duterte has no engagement in that specific region.
P. Lt. Col. May Genio, commander of QCPD Police Station 14, continued, “However, if the video was approved, the uploader was VP Sara.
“I’ve ordered my policeman to be relieved of duty and opened an administrative culpability investigation on his conduct. The public has our word that this situation won’t happen again.
