Man chasing car in viral video not pump attendant but friend of ex-mayor, says lawyer

A lawyer who is a friend of the vlogger and former mayor of Allacapan in Cagayan shared what he said actually happened behind the viral video where a man initially identified as a gas station attendant was seen chasing the driver of a car who supposedly did not pay for their fuel. 

In his report on Wednesday, CJ Torida of GMA Regional TV One North Central Luzon said Atty. Roger Real Paz, a friend of former Allacapan mayor Harry Florida, explained the man chasing the car was named “Tyson”.

Aside from Tyson not being an older person, there was no gas and run incident and that Florida was the owner of the gas station, the lawyer said. 

This after the Land Transportation Office issued a show cause order to the occupants of the vehicle in the video. 

The LTO suspended the license of the driver for 90 days and placed an alarm status on the vehicle while an investigation is ongoing. 

According to Paz, the incident happened last March after a meeting at the gas station. 

“Natapos ang meeting namin doon sa gasolinahan, umalis kami para magmiryenda. Ngayon si Tyson nandon malayo sa lugar namin, and then paalis na kami naghabol ‘yan. Humabol ‘yan dahil gusto niya na sumama sa miryenda namin,” Paz said.

(After our meeting at the gas station, we left to have snacks. Tyson was far from where we were, and as we were leaving he tried to chase us. He wanted to join us for merienda.) 

Paz said Tyson was their friend and playmate since they were children.

After Tyson chased them, they eventually let him get in the vehicle.

Paz also questioned the basis of the LTO suspension of the driver’s license. 

The lawyer insisted there was no legal basis for the LTO action since the driver did not violate any law in the incident and there was no instance of reckless driving. 

Further, he argued the agency should not have anything to do with what happened between Florida and Tyson. 

The report said efforts were made to get the LTO’s side on the matter. 

In a related matter, One North Central Luzon reached out to Florida but he declined to comment about the incident at this time. —RF, GMA News