Police to bikers in viral video: Come out to clear names

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Police hope that the bikers in a now viral video would come out so they could tell their side of the story and defend themselves.

Police Captain Armil Coloscos, station chief of the Casuntingan Police Station 4 in Mandaue City which has jurisdiction on the area where the punching incident was caught on camera, said this as the bikers involved remain unidentified as of this posting.

These bikers went viral after they were caught on cam hitting a bread delivery rider over a traffic altercation along the intersection of Hernan Cortes and AS Fortuna Streets on Sunday, August 22, 2021.

The reason has yet to be known as none of the bikers has come out or filed a formal complaint with the police.

The motorcycle rider has already filed a complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) on Monday, August 23.

READ: Bikers’ road rage victim determined to file complaint against assailants

The bikers have received a lot of criticism from netizens over the incident. Coloscos also said on Monday that they may be facing multiple charges.

Aside from the physical injury charges, they may also be facing charges of disobedience if proven that they violated Mandaue City Mayor  Jonas Cortes’ Executive Order no. 27 on leisure biking.

Leisure biking is allowed in Mandaue but only within the barangays where the bikers are from. Those biking to work are also exempted.

Felix Suico Jr., operations head of the city’s  Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said that based on the CCTV footage, the bikers were heading to Cebu City.

Coloscos said that the biker in a light colored shirt who was seen punching and hitting the  rider was also not wearing a face mask, which could mean a P5,000 fine for violating the city’s face mask ordinance.

The bikers were also seen not using the bike lane along AS Fortuna Street. They could be fined P100 for violating the city’s Bike Ordinance of not using the established bike lanes.

Aside from this, Coloscos said that if it is proven that the bikers claimed to be NBI agents and are actually not, additional charges will be filed against them.

Coloscos said they are trying to identify the bikers through any video or CCTV camera near the area.

Flor Gitgano, spokesperson of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM), said they are collecting data on the incident and are reviewing footage from CCTV cameras in areas near where the incident happened.

Marvin Lobitaña, the bread delivery driver,  filed a police blotter at Station 4.

According to the police report, two bikers got angry at him after they accused Lobitaña of sidesweeping them while biking along AS Fortuna Street.

/bmjo

READ MORE: Noted Cebuano cyclists on road rage issue: Never let emotions and anger take over