MANILA — A Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) official issued a public apology on Thursday to the police officer he scolded for illegally parking his motorcycle along a sidewalk.

MMDA Special Operations Group Strike Force Head Gabriel Go personally went to the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) to say sorry to Capt. Mann Erik Felipe of the Quezon City Police District Station 9 and to the rest of the police force after he was accused of disrespecting a uniformed personnel.

“Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa inyo. It’s not my intention na magkaroon po ng ganung hindi maayos na pangyayari at pakikitungo,” said Go.

“Yung trabaho ko, hindi po tama na i-involve ang emotions. It should not be emotional in such a sense na it will get ahead of us… This is a learning process,” he added.

The video of the incident, which happened right outside the police station, went viral after it was posted on social media by vlogger Dada Koo who regularly tags along with the MMDA during road clearing operations.

In one part of the video, Go can be heard reprimanding Felipe for supposedly trying to question the MMDA personnel who issued him a traffic violation ticket. 

Go did not let up even as Felipe repeatedly apologized.

But NAPOLCOM Commissioner Rafael Calinisan, who was also present during the press conference, said there is a more humane and respectful way of enforcing the law.

“Sana bigyan naman ng konting respeto ang uniporme…Minsan sa pagpapatupad din natin ng batas we are overzealous, we are so passionate, nawawala yung humanity sa implementation of the law,” he said.

In the end, Calinisan thanked Go for “manning up” and accepted his apology, adding that the Philippine National Police will continue to have a good working relationship with the MMDA.

But he also admonished Go for allowing the MMDA’s clearing operations to be used as online content, noting that it violated the privacy of individuals.

“Yung mga medyo napapahiyang individuals sa Youtube ni Dada Koo and your personal Tiktok accounts, baka pwedeng paki-take down o edit naman. Hindi lang para sa kapulisan pero I’m speaking for the general public… Respetuhin niyo rin ang rights ng private citizens kasi presumed as innocent naman yan,” he said.

Go said he will take care of the matter, but denied having any direct ties with Dada Koo despite resharing his vlogs.

“Hindi po ako si Dada Koo. Hindi akin (ang vlog), there’s no monetary involvement. Siya ay private citizen na sumasama,” insisted Go.

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During the same day, Felipe proceeded to file cyber libel complaints against Go and Dada Koo before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

“It is my personal decision po to file a case for posting edited, spliced videos online na medyo nakasira po ng ating pagkatao,” he said.

Felipe also thanked the NAPOLCOM for having his back during what he described as a stressful time, what with all the online scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Calinisan said that this should serve as a reminder as well to police officers to always follow traffic rules.

“Hindi po tayo kunsintidor… Hindi porke't pulis ay exempted sa batas. No one is above the law,” he said.

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