My take on the Road Rage shooting incident

Last Sunday, a piece of news got our regular group chat abuzz for quite some time. One of my friends posted in our group chat the video of the Road Rage shooting incident which happened on the early morning of Sunday, March 19, 2017. He then asked us if the guy in the video looked familiar. Indeed, he did look familiar. We had doubts at first but if we were right we had gone to school with this guy and have at one time or another, exchanged greetings with him. I had personally never been too close with him and the most he got out of me was probably a nod.

The next few hours saw our fears confirmed. His name was posted all over social media and the man hunt started. His house and condo were raided and a hold departure order was issued. Monday saw a reward being posted by Mayor Tommy Osmeña for any information on his whereabouts.Tuesday morning saw his surrender to the police and the rest of the day was all fan fare showing his mugshots, fingerprinting and even a video of him sitting in his prison cell. He also had his time in the spotlight when he was asked about his defense.

This morning, I saw posts from a lot of my friends who were close with him defending him (naturally, you don't abandon your friends during their time of need). Some people online are calling him a "brat" while others are calling for the full video with full audio to be released so we'd know the "full story". Some are saying the nurse who was shot was the original aggressor and that the shooter acted out of self defense. So what really happened that night? What happened before the cameraman pressed record on his phone? So many questions and for some reason, we all want to get the answers so we can form our own judgement.

This is all so very troublesome to me. While I agree the original video (if one indeed exists) should be used as evidence, it is not for us, the viewers to decide whether he was in the right or wrong. It is for the courts. I agree that he should go though the process just like anyone else who did something (or didn't do anything) against the law. It's due process. I know it's hard for us, Filipinos to accept the court's decisions on pretty much anything as money is a very powerful witness in our courts. However, that's really all we have. Should he be allowed bail? Should he be slapped with jail time or just a fine? All of these are for the courts to decide really.

The one thing I find funny online though is people clamoring for "equal treatment" or "no special treatment". I agree with this idea. Rich, poor, American, Filipino, Chinese, college graduate, or street vendors should be treated equally in the eyes of the law. Then it goes downhill from here with video footage of him in his prison cell being posted as "news". The guy is still a human being. He's in a cell now and awaiting charges. I prefer to withhold my judgement of people since I know I for one am not perfect and can never claim to be.

My only wish is for all of this to be put to rest. If this can be handled quietly, so much the better. I hope both parties learn from this experience.

That is all...