Former Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño clarified on Friday that he was not the one who spread the viral video of the incident that happened on Commonweath Avenue in Quezon City, wherein a police officer ordered motorists to stop the traffic flow because Vice President Sara Duterte was allegedly about to cross the road.
In an exclusive interview on DZRH Damdamng Bayan, Casiño said the video was already viral, even before he was able to share it.
"Yung video na iyan mukhang kumakalat na iyan bago ko pa pinost sa aking Twitter. Kasi nakuha ko iyan sa isang viber... may napadala sa akin sa viber, and then nakita ko rin yan may isang Facebook post tungkol diyan. So even before ko ishinare mukhang may nagsheshare nang marami," Casiño said.
Former Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teodoro Casiño sa viral video na isinara ang bahagi ng Commonwealth Ave.: Actually, yung video na iyan, kumakalat na iyan bago ko pa i-post sa aking Twitter#DamdamingBayan #SamaSamaTayoPilipino
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) October 6, 2023
LIVE: https://t.co/L5ESk5jGQA pic.twitter.com/hha9QZZ65Q
The former Congressman said he felt the frustration of the man who took the video.
"Parang damang dama mo yung galit ng kumuha ng video, alam mo yun yung frustration, so shinare ko sabi ko pambihira naman 'yung Commonwealth ay isasara para sa isang VIP," he said.
Since Casiño has a number of followers on Twitter, he said that the public cited him in the viral video.
In his shared post, Casiño captioned, "Sinarado ang isa sa pinaka busy na kalsada sa bansa dahil tatawid ang isang ViP? Grabe naman yan. Sent to me by an ex-military man."
Casiño said he did not mention any names as the video was already self-explanatory.
According to him, special treatment for such VIPs should be stopped.
"Ibang level naman ang VIP na iyan. Yung practice ng special treatment sa VIP na ganyan, sa tingin ko dapat matigil iyan. Inire-reinforce yung matinding agwat ng mga karapatan ng may mga kapanyarihan at ordinaryong Pilipino," he said.
Casiño stressed that such special treatment will only reinforce the gap between those who have power and ordinary Filipino citizens.
In an official statement, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) denied the allegations that the Vice President was involved in the traffic disruption.
It said that the President was in Mindanao for World Teacher's Day and other activities when the traffic disruption happened.
"The Vice President did not ask QCPD and will never ask government agencies, including law enforcement bodies, to carry out actions that would inconvenience the public or cause them harm," the OVP said.
"The Vice President will always put the interest and welfare of the public over her own personal interests and privileges," it added.
