Court orders businessman's arrest over traffic row with TV5 anchor

MANILA, Philippines –  A Quezon City court has ordered the arrest of a businessman who allegedly poked a gun at TV5 news anchor Cheryl Cosim and her companions in a traffic altercation in November last year.

Judge Jose Paneda of Regional Trial Court Branch 220 issued the warrant last Nov. 4 for the arrest of Richard Ordoñez after the latter was charged with two counts of illegal possession of firearms before Paneda’s sala.

Assistant city prosecutor Rodrigo del Rosario found probable cause to charge Ordoñez in court for illegal possession of firearms.

Ordoñez is also facing a case for other light threats before the Quezon City metropolitan trial court.

Records show that on Nov. 2, 2009, Cosim – then a news anchor of ABS-CBN – together with her partner, John Alvarez, and three other companions were on their way home in a Mitsubishi Outlander when the incident happened along Congressional Avenue. Alvarez was driving.

Cosim said Ordoñez, on board his Nissan Cefiro, allegedly sideswiped their vehicle.

Ordoñez allegedly blocked the complainants’ vehicle with his own, after which Ordoñez alighted and waved his gun at them while signaling at Cosim and her companions to get out of the vehicle.

Cosim and her companions, however, refused to get out of the vehicle until the fuming Ordoñez boarded his car and sped away.

The complainants immediately reported the incident to the police and were able to find out Ordoñez’s identity through the car’s registration papers.

While under investigation, police learned that Ordoñez kept several firearms with expired permits.

In his counter-affidavit, Ordoñez said he could not be charged since the complainants failed to give the general description of the gun used in the incident.

But in a three-page resolution, prosecutors found probable cause to indict Ordoñez as there could be no doubt that he lost his temper when Alvarez overtook his vehicle.