Wazzup Pilipinas!
The man caught in a viral video of a road rage incident in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) was identified by Taguig City police as Joseph Philip Lu Bautista, a 36 year old business consultant from Ususan, Taguig city.
A Facebook user named Pinky Ortiz said that Bautista forced his vehicle to turn right from Bonifacio Avenue to McKinley Parkway while their vehicle was about to cross the street. Bautista was driving a white Toyota Fortuner bearing a Philippine National Police (PNP) commemorative plate and with several PNP stickers on its side.
Ortiz claimed that Bautista honked and turned on his siren. When they got into a face-to-face confrontation, Bautista was seen wearing a police uniform and cap. Bautista accused them of beating the red light and threatened to bring them to the police station.
But according to the Taguig City Police, Bautista denied Ortiz's accusation albeit confirming that he was the man in that incident. He also said that he was not a police officer and that he only wore the uniform because they were "comfortable".
Comfortable wearing police uniform to harass people? What a lame excuse! Dude, get your act together!
The PNP is set to charge Bautista for violating Article 179 of the Revised Penal Code or the unauthorized use of the police uniform.
Revised Penal Code Article 179 penalizes any person who shall publicly and improperly make use of insignias, uniforms or any dress pertaining to an office not held by that person or to a class of persons of which he or she is not a member. Offenders can also be prosecuted for violation of Republic Act 493, for the crime of wearing, using, manufacturing and selling of insignias, decorations, medals, badges, patches and identification cards prescribed for the Armed Forces of the Philippines by persons not in the service. We highly encourage the public to report cases of violations of RA 493 and Article 179 of the RPC to proper authorities. We must instill pride in the service and in the uniform and accord it due respect.
We hope that Ortiz would file a formal case against Bautista.
Its crystal clear that Bautista was impersonating a police officer by using all those uniform, insignias, police cap and siren. The PNP should file appropriate charges accordingly to teach Bautista a lesson and to also warn future perpetrators never to impersonate police officers to strike fear to others.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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