A man suffered stab wounds to his jaw and behind his ear after being attacked in a busy street in Quezon City.
According to Mark Salazar’s report on “24 Oras,” despite multiple witnesses and even dashcam footage capturing the incident, no one intervened to stop the attacker.
The violent encounter took place on Rose Street near Luzon Avenue in Barangay Pasong Tamo. A passing motorist, shocked by the scene, recorded the stabbing on his dashcam.
As seen in the footage, a man in a green sweatshirt was pinned down while being stabbed. Yet, what alarmed the motorist even more was the lack of response from bystanders.
One local resident, who witnessed the attack, downplayed the violence, saying, “Hindi naman talaga papatayin ‘yun. Bigyan lang ng leksyon ‘yun. Inano lang siya, tapos ayun, binitawan na rin lang siya. Yung sinaksak, matigas talaga ulo nun dito—talagang pasaway. Marami ‘yan nakawan diyan.”
(He wasn’t really going to be killed. He was just being taught a lesson. They just did something to him and then let him go. That guy who got stabbed is really hard-headed—he’s a troublemaker. He’s been involved in a lot of thefts around here.)
The victim survived and walked away from the scene as if nothing had happened. Barangay officials were unable to locate the suspect, as he was reportedly not from the area.
The stabbing victim, identified only as alias Jonas, sustained injuries on his jaw and behind his ear. However, according to the community, Jonas may have provoked the attack.
“Di ko rin alam ang dahilan nila, e. Pinag-initan siguro ako. Ang sabi kasi, nagnakaw ka raw ng tablet ng cellphone. Ah, wala akong ninakaw na ganun… Yung mga binibintang sakin—tablet o ano—wala akong ninakaw na ganun. Meron last year, cellphone,“ he said.
(I also don’t know their reason. Maybe they just picked on me. They said I stole a tablet or a cellphone. But I didn’t steal anything like that… The things they’re accusing me of stealing a—tablet—I didn’t steal anything like that. Well, last year, I did steal a cellphone.)
Barangay officials also confirmed that residents had long been complaining about Jonas’ behavior.
“Nalaman namin, mekaniko siya ng motor tricycle. Pinuntahan namin ‘yung pinagtatrabahuan niya pati ibang residente doon. Ang gusto, paalisin na lang siya kasi daw talaga daw maligalig daw itong nasugatan,” said Barangay Pasong Tamo Deputy executive officer, Eleuterio Torres.
(We found out that he is a tricycle mechanic. We went to his workplace and spoke with other residents there. They want him to leave because they say the injured man is really troublesome.)
Despite suffering injuries, Jonas refused to press charges, preventing further investigation by the police.
His relatives are in Bicol, and with his neighbors wanting him out of the neighborhood, barangay officials have decided to send him back to his province.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News
