NBI-7 on Mandaue road rage: ‘A lost opportunity’ to catch fake gov’t workers

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

CEBU CITY, Philippines—With a settlement reached, the identities of the bikers caught on video punching a baker in Mandaue City on August 22, 2021 will remain a mystery to the general public.

And for enforcers from the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), the whole incident turned out to be a missed opportunity to catch individuals pretending to be working for the government. 

“Maayo unta to arun masampolan ning mga tawo nga muclaim nga taga gobyerno sila. Daghan ra ba gyud ana,” said lawyer Rennan Augustus Oliva, director of NBI-7.

(It would have been good [that they’d be identified] so that those who claim to be government workers may be taught a lesson.  There are a lot this kind of people.) 

Oliva, in a phone interview with reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 25, confirmed that their office has received the affidavit of desistance from Marvin Lobitaña, the baker who, at first, said he was determined to file a case against the bikers who mauled him over a traffic altercation at the intersection of AS Fortuna and Hernan Cortes streets, but then recanted after he and the other party agreed to settle their differences amicably on Tuesday, August 24.

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

READ: Victim, bikers in Mandaue road rage settle amicably

Lobitaña was seen in a video being physically assaulted by two bikers on Sunday, August 22,  after he reportedly tried to overtake them, and nearly caused a fellow female biker to get injured.

The video of the incident immediately went viral on social media, and prompted NBI-7 to step in when one of the bikers was heard claiming to Lobitaña to be an agent of the NBI. 

The bureau since denied involvement of their agents. 

The decision of Lobitaña to enter into a settlement with the bikers was disappointing for the NBI-7.

“Nasagmuyo kaayo mi. We could have helped him. That’s why we offered to assist him to put an end aning mga tawo nga gamiton ang ngan sa gobyerno,” explained Oliva. 

(We are disappointed. We could have helped him. That’s why we offered to assist him to put an end to people who use the name of the government.)

As a result, Oliva said they will be asking help from the public to identify the bikers so they could pursue the investigation.

A screengrab from a CCTV footage from MCDRRMO shows the bikers involved in a punching incident in Mandaue City.

“We have names (of the possible identities of the bikers), lots of names. But no one wants to testify or prove that these people are indeed those caught on the video,” he added. 

/bmjo