THE 15-year-old girl, who was caught on camera arguing with traffic enforcer Bonifacio Legarde, yesterday denied claims that she and her friends framed the enforcer.
In a phone interview with Cebu Daily News, the girl said she didn’t know her friend recorded the incident.
She said she and her friends merely wanted to get help for an old woman.
There were three traffic enforcers in the area then. The first enforcer, who was helping pedestrians cross the street, pointed them to two enforcers helping a man in a wheelchair.
She said they approached the two enforcers thinking that one of them can assist the man in the wheelchair while the other one can help the elderly woman.
The girl recalled that he called Legarde many times, but when he seemed not to hear her, she said in a low voice that the enforcer may be deaf.
Legarde probably heard what she said because he approached her and shouted at her in front of the old woman.
She claimed that Legarde even threatened to slap her.
She said she was embarrassed and she told the enforcer that they’ll just settle this at City Hall.
A friend of hers took a video of the argument as evidence against the enforcer. The video, which was uploaded online, went viral.
The girl, who is a Grade 9 student in Mandaue City, has been advised by her parents and teachers not to make the situation worse.
She reached out to the daughters of the enforcer and asked to settle the issue amicably.
She and her friends also deleted the video.