Pampanga solon denies involvement in viral road rage incident

A lawmaker from Pampanga on Tuesday denied any involvement in a road altercation incident whose video footage went viral on social media recently.

At a press conference, Pampanga 1st District Representative Carmelo "Jon" Lazatin II belied claims that his son was the driver of an FJ Cruiser who attacked another driver riding a red sedan along a highway in Angeles City.

The said FJ Cruiser reportedly had the number "8" in its license plate, indicating that it was issued to a member of the House of Representatives.

But Lazatin said the same license plate was issued in the 16th Congress, which he was not a part of.

"Dahil newly-elected ako [ngayon], wala pang na-issue na plaka ang 17th Congress. Kung makikita niyo sa video, ang plakang ginamit ay 16th Congress. Hindi pa ako representante nun," he said.

"Makikita natin na walang kinalaman sa akin yung viral video na lumabas," he added.

While his father was also a congressman, Lazatin said he was a member of the 15th Congress.

Lazatin believes that he was only implicated in the incident in order for the driver of the FJ Cruiser to escape liability.

"Tingin ko dahil nangyari ito sa primero distrito, yung iba parang gumagamit ng isang opisyales para makatakas sa ginawa niyang hindi maganda sa isang kababayan namin. Baka isang paraan yun para maabswelto sa ginawa nila," he said.

Still, Lazatin said he would want to know who was the person in the said video.

"Gusto kong malaman kung sino ang gumagamit ng FJ Cruiser na yun. Actually may mga viral video, nakita ko na prior sa nangyari na ito, meron nang nailabas na video noong 2017 na same FJ Cruiser, naka-plakang otso," he said.

"Gusto natin malaman talaga kung sino ang may kakagawan nito," he added. — MDM, GMA News