It took just a few seconds for his life to be ruined. What's worse, probably the lives of his family and others as well. This is the story of Wilfredo Gonzales, a former police officer who was caught on video slapping and threatening with a loaded gun a cyclist who bumped his car. What kind of damage could be done to his car for him to react like that?
Now, all the stench of this person is coming out. According to PNP spokeswoman Police Colonel Jean Fajardo, Gonzales faced administrative charges due to grave misconduct in 2006. But since Gonzales retired from the PNP in 2016, his case has not yet been resolved. In 2017 there was a resolution and only in 2018 was he fired from the PNP. He was still able to collect his benefits for two years. He was dismissed with the rank of PO1, the lowest rank in the PNP hierarchy even if he served for 20 years. This is because of continuous demotions because of his issues.
Because of the incident, his world is falling apart. His permit to own a gun has been canceled and four guns were confiscated. His driver's license has been suspended by the LTO while it conducts its own investigation. The permit may be permanently revoked depending on the outcome. Although the cyclist no longer wants to file a case because of threats he and his family received, the PNP will still file a case of alarm and scandal against Gonzales. In my opinion, it should be a case of grave threats since a gun has already been brandished.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is also encouraging the cyclist to file a case so that this person can be removed from society for a long time. It has also been discovered he works at the Supreme Court. That explains the pin on his lapel. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario has terminated him after learning about the road rage.
QCPD chief Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III also submitted a letter of resignation to Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. He claims he did this to spare the PNP from being dragged into the issue. Torre gave Gonzales the opportunity to speak at a press conference. Here Gonzales spoke of how he and his family are suffering, blamed social media, and claimed he is not a bad person. That made me laugh. If there wasn’t a video, I doubt he would be saying anything.
Why did Torre give him the opportunity to speak, and not the victim? The PNP did the same to the driver who ran over the traffic enforcer near Megamall, right? Torre received severe criticism that ended up in his resignation. The PNP would do well to learn from this. This incident should serve as a warning to all gun-carrying hotheads to think twice before brandishing a gun in a traffic altercation. But as I say this, another video is making the internet waves.