A traffic officer has been caught on camera hitting a man’s hand and taking his phone after the latter took a video of the officer towing his car.
John Axalan, the car’s owner shared the incident on Facebook last Wednesday along with photos and videos of what happened.
He said that the traffic officer was part of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) in Malate, Manila and explained that he had been parking his car in the same area for five years, which is why he took issue with the officer towing the vehicle.
“I parked in the allotted parking space in the building that we’ve been using for five years because two slots were allotted to us by the building owner,” he wrote in the post in a mix of English and Filipino.
In the first video, the officer can be seen quarreling with Axalan for allegedly illegally parking on the sidewalk.
Matters got worse when the officer saw that Axalan was recording him with his phone. The officer, visibly angry, slapped Axalan’s hand several times to get a hold of the phone.
Axalan said he questioned why his car was getting towed when several other vehicles were parked along the street.
The second video shows the building’s security guard trying to retrieve Axalan’s phone from the officer, causing a scuffle. As things were about to get even more intense, Axalan broke off the fight and eventually got his phone back from a different traffic officer.
According to Axalan, this traffic officer allegedly told him to delete the video he took. In the video, he can be heard saying in Filipino: “I won’t delete the video.”
Netizens weighed in on the incident:
Atiseret Onisogra-sageiv wrote: “Those guys are arrogant and abusive with their power.”
One questioned why the officer had to take Axalan’s phone.
Alkit Gerona stated: “Why are you taking the phone, is there anything wrong with what you [MTPB] are doing? If you’re only doing things right, you shouldn’t be taking the private cellphone of a person because of a video, that’s how [people] will know if your operations are right or wrong.”
DWayne Sega said that the traffic officer had a point.
“What I know is that that car is illegally parked because you can’t occupy the building’s sidewalk as parking space. It’s even near the gutter,” he said.
“The traffic officer has a point, but the thing wrong with it is that they’re only choosing [who to tow].”
Axalan told ABS-CBN News that he will not park at the allotted space until matters have been resolved. He also said he will file a complaint after being hurt in the incident.
The MTPB has yet to release a statement.
