HPG director quits post after son figures in ‘pinning’ video

The director of the PNP Highway Patrol Group has resigned from his post after a video which showed his son hitting an HPG trainee went viral.

According to Sandra Aguinaldo's report on "24 Oras", the hitting incident happened at the recent graduation of trainees from the executive motorcycle riding course in Sariaya, Quezon.

Police Brig. Gen. Clifford Gairanod said he resigned from his post to give way to an investigation of the incident.

He also relieved son Police Captain Clifton Gairanod.

“It pains me in the heart, I relieved my son and had him investigated together with our other training team,” Gairanod said.

Gairanod said the incident in the video was part of the pinning of riders' badges on the trainees after they completed the course.

He said it was a tradition.

"We pin the rider's badge on the breast of the graduates. Then they will go around the ‘tigers’ or the alumni of the course and all the HPG instructors to give them pounding on the chest,” Gairanod said.

Authorities are investigating the incident.

“Some are requesting na lakasan, some are requesting na normal, some are requesting na gusto nila malakas talaga kasi proud sila na pin-an,” Gairanod said.

(Some request to be hit harder, some request to be hit with normal intensity, and some ask that they be hit really hard because they are proud to be pinned.)

The PNP Internal Affairs Service chief reminded police to follow the law and policies in everything they do include in training. —Richa Noriega/NB, GMA Integrated News