CLO begins investigation on vendor-PROBE incident
Screen grab of the video where Probe member apprehends fruit vendor outside the Cebu South Bus Terminal on Sept. 21, 2020. | screen grab from video
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office (CLO) has formed a committee of three to begin the investigation on the viral video showing a seemingly violent apprehension by a member of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) of an ambulant vendor selling fruits.
The CLO was ordered by Mayor Edgardo Labella to investigate the incident that went viral online as the apprehension was captured where the fruits have fallen into the road gutter after a tug of war by the vendor the PROBE member over the cart.
“We have formed a committee of three, three lawyers will be assigned over the case. They will ensure that the investigation will go through the proper process,” said Lawyer Rey Gealon, the head of the CLO.
Read: PROBE chief defends personnel caught in video apprehending ambulant fruit vendor
Gealon added that the first action of the CLO was to seek an explanation from the PROBE member, who is under the employment of the city government.
The CLO would also get the explanation of the vendor, who apparently was a vice president of an association of ambulant vendors in Cebu City.
A clarificatory conference will be held in the next few days to discuss the circumstances of the incident. Only then will CLO release a recommendation for action to the mayor.
Gealon assured that the parties involved would undergo due process in finding out who was at fault over the incident.
The PROBE recently released a statement saying that there was no violent apprehension involved, but the vendor supposedly resisted the apprehension causing the scene on September 21, 2020, outside the South Bus Terminal.
Read: Cebu City government to appeal for return of ambulant vendors
Under the modified general community quarantine (MGC), street vendors has not yet been allowed to go back to the streets, but Mayor Labella has written to the Department of Interior and Local Government to reconsider the situation and allow them back on the streets under strict regulations. /dbs
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
