The municipal administrator of Cainta, Rizal berated a police officer for failing to maintain order immediately after a ten-wheeler truck figured in a self-accident and toppled cases of beer along Ortigas Avenue Extension.
Cainta Municipal Administrator Kit Nieto, also a former mayor of the town, called the attention of a police officer on Facebook after seeing videos and pictures of people grabbing beer bottles and cases following the accident.
The Cainta Municipal Protection and Safety Office (MPSO) on Tuesday, October 3 reported that a ten-wheeler truck got in a self-accident on the eastbound side of Cainta Junction going to Antipolo City.
The incident occurred in front of Villarica Pawnshop at 4:30 p.m. that day.
Multiple cases of beer toppled along Ortigas Avenue Extension as a result.
As of its Facebook posting at that time, Cainta MPSO said that one of its enforcers was on the site.
By 6:20 p.m., it said that “all major roads” were now passable.
However, the looting of the toppled cases and beer bottles was not prevented.
This reached the attention of Kit, who reminded town authorities that they were obliged to watch over the toppled items.
“Iharap niyo sa akin lahat ng nanamantala sa aksidente. Pati ang mga enforcers na dapat tumulong ma-secure ang mga alak. Hindi kayo nakakatuwa… there was failure to maintain order in the area immediately after the mishap,” he wrote on Tuesday.
“I will hold you personally liable sa lahat ng nawala, Seguilla. Hanapin mo silang lahat. At ibalik mo lahat ng kinuha… hindi pwede ‘yan… Bibigyan ko ang mga kumuha ng alak hanggang alas syete y medya (7:30) ngayong gabi para isoli ang mga alak sa lobby ng munisipyo. ‘Pag lagpas ng tinakdang oras, patutugis ko kayo…” Kit added.
“By 7.30 tonight, [I] am ordering the entire police team of Cainta to conduct warrantless arrests sa lahat ng nanamantala at kumuha ng mga paninda…” he further said.
By 8:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Kit said the police had already arrested seven individuals who looted the toppled beers.
He also said the retrieved bottles were set aside for evidence.
A video of the accident was shared by Cainta Mayor Elen Nieto, Kit’s wife.
“Balikan ang nagdulot ng matinding traffic kahapon sa Ortigas Extension,” she said on Wednesday, October 4.
In another post, Elen thanked the town’s road clearing team and the Cainta MPSO for clearing the road. She also credited the “tanods” of Cainta’s Barangay Santo Domingo.
The incident happened the same month as the Oktoberfest, a German festival celebrating Bavarian culture and flowing pints of beer.
TIME magazine said it began as a wedding celebration more than 200 years ago when Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810.
The nuptial was celebrated with multiple days of drinking, feasting and horse races.
It evolved as an annual celebration that has become a worldwide phenomenon where revelers drink beer, the Germans’ favorite alcoholic beverage, and celebrate their culture.