Man in road rage incident in Valenzuela City surrenders

THE man who figured in a road rage incident in Valenzuela City in August surrendered himself and his firearm to Mayor Weslie “Wes” Gatchalian who presented him to the media on Tuesday.

POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION A victim and a witness positively identify the man involved in a road rage incident in Valenzuela City on Aug. 19, 2023 during a press conference at City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Police said Marlon Malabute, a businessman from Manila, was captured on video wielding his gun during a traffic altercation. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN

Marlon Malabute, a businessman from Tondo, Manila, said his family was worried over the incident last Aug. 19, 2023 but opted not to answer questions on the advice of his lawyer.

Gatchalian told a masked Malabute that he would not tolerate such abuses from a person like Malabute who is also a licensed gun owner.

“Here in Valenzuela, there were also incidents where people were confronting with each other but not like him (Malabute) who wielded a gun and threatened a taxi driver who is working hard to earn a living,” Gatchalian said.

Col. Salvador Destura, City police chief, said that formal charges of grave threat and coercion and alarm and scandal have been filed before the City Prosecutor's Office against Malabute, owner of the Toyota Fortuner (NBB-3135), who had an altercation with taxi driver, Henry Ong Jr., of Barangay Bignay, also in the city.

Destura said the victim, who claimed he has been suffering from high blood pressure and high sugar aside from the trauma caused by the incident, identified Malabute through photos that were presented to him.

A female witness also confirmed the identity of Malabute, police said.

The incident took place along Faustino Street, Barangay Faustino, also in the city, past 1 a.m., of August 19. A video of the altercation posted by lawyer Raymond Fortun on social media went viral last week.

In the video, an armed Malabute was seen stepping out of his SUV, running toward the victim and threatening to shoot him.

Malabute pushed the taxi driver whom he left after falling on the ground.

In another closed-circuit television footage acquired by Destura's men, it could be seen that the SUV was running fast and attempted to overtake the taxicab.

“This is where he hit the taxi and the commotion started when he pulled a gun while confronting the victim,” Destura said.

Destura said they first looked for Malabute at his addresses in Caloocan and Tondo, Manila but was nowhere to be found.

They then appealed to Malabute's relatives to convince him to shed light on what happened.

Verification with the Firearms and Explosive Office indicated that Malabute was a registered owner of a 9mm caliber pistol.

Just last month, a similar incident took place in Quezon City where a dismissed policeman was shown threatening a cyclist with a gun.