Victim, bikers in Mandaue road rage settle amicably

A screengrab of a video from a netizen shows a biker punching a bread delivery driver at the intersection of Hernan Cortes and A.S. Fortuna streets in Mandaue City on Sunday, August 22, 2021.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The victim and the two bikers of the viral road rage in Mandaue City have, on Tuesday, August 24 agreed to settle their differences amicably.

This happened just a day after Marvin Lobitaña, the mauling victim, expressed his eagerness to file a complaint against two still unidentified bikers.

The incident which was caught on video by a netizen happened on Sunday, August 22.

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

Last Monday, August 23, Lobitaña went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-7) office to give his statement regarding the incident.

Attorney Renan Oliva, NBI-7 director, advised him to come back to their office after getting his medical examination result which was needed to determine what specific complaints to file.

But on Tuesday, August 24, Lobitaña confirmed during his interview with Alsa Bisaya, that he and the two bikers have reached a settlement after both parties conversed and forgave each other.

The meeting was arranged earlier this morning at the Alsa Bisaya headquarters wherein a lady cyclist, who was said to be a member of the group of bikers who punched Lobitaña showed the bruises she sustained after the latter allegedly sideswiped her.

Lobitaña admitted that he was also at fault considering that the lady biker fell off her bike and sustained bruises and injuries.

He added that the biker crashed because she panicked when they overtook her lane. However, he said that he has no idea about the incident until today.

“Kay kato diayng pagkasipyat sa akong motor nga nigahi ang manibela ng ni cross sa daplin, wala tuod maigo iyang kauban pero na-rattle sila, natumba, nakita gyud nato karon nga nilagom gyud iyang paa, so ilang gusto settle ug ako sad gusto mag settle kay labad kaayo sa ulo ning naa tay kontra,” Lobitana said.

He added that he was also convinced that the said event has triggered the two bikers resulting in the punching incident.

In the video, Lobitaña was showed being repeatedly hit in the head, then was punched twice by the two bikers.

After the meeting, Lobitaña said he would no longer file a complaint against the two bikers who until now remain anonymous.

Lobitaña has also filed an Affidavit of Desistance and Recantation today, August 24. This implies that he will no longer stand by whatever he has said earlier about the incident.

Lobitaña also appealed to the public to stop posting and commenting on the issue and encouraged them to move forward as he did. He further said that this was his personal decision and that no one coerced or forced him.

READ: NBI-7 director orders investigation of road rage incident involving ‘fake agent’ biker