Axe brought out in road rage incident between fire volunteers, truck driver

A truck driver and a group of fire volunteers got into an altercation in Tondo, Manila last week, following right of way issues along Abad Santos Avenue.

According to truck driver Timothy James Asuncion, he was driving along Abad Santos Avenue last Friday when a convoy of fire volunteers requested him to give way for the convoy which included two trucks and motorcycles.

“Sabi ko ‘Sige po, daan po kayo,’ pinagbigyan ko po sila. Nung paglipat ko ng kaliwa, sinundan nila ako. Bumalik po ako sa kanan, sinundan niya pa rin po ulit ako. Sabi ko mukhang iba na po ata,” he said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

[I told them ‘Okay, go ahead. I gave way. When I transferred to the left, they followed. I returned to the right, and they still followed. I thought to myself that this is now something else.]

The two parties then got into an altercation at a street light, when Asuncion said the fire volunteers attacked him. A video recording showed that one of the men had an axe raised, while another hit him.

Asuncion said he was hit by the axe, and showed scratches on his arm following the incident.

“Fire volunteer din po ako, firefighter, kaya alam ko naman po ‘yung protocol. ‘Pag may responde, automatic tatabi po, gigilid. Nung araw po na nangyari ‘yun wala naman talagang responde,” he said.

[I am also a fire volunteer, a firefighter, so I know the protocol. When there is a response operation, it is automatic to give way. During that day there was no operation.]

Asuncion has since reported to the Manila Police District Station 7, which identified the man with the axe as a certain Aniceto Pagulayan. They are still trying to identify other individuals involved.

Pagulayan will be facing an attempted homicide case, based on Asuncion’s statement and narration.

GMA News tried to reach out to Pagulayan for comment, but he was not in his residence. It remains open for his side. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News