By Katherine Marajas
A group of young misfits attacked an old man and dragged him out of a jeepney in a bid to steal the pouch he was carrying on Taft Avenue corner Pedro Gil in Manila Friday afternoon.
(screengrabbed/ video by Nathaniel Jamolin) MANILA BULLETIN
Concerned netizen Nathaniel Javier Jamolin uploaded the video on Facebook.
Jamolin was inside a bus when he captured the video of the kids forcefully dragging the old man out of a jeepney from Baclaran.
Initially, he thought that the group of minors was just begging for money, but was shocked to see them grappling for possession of the ecobag the old man was holding.
“Akala ko, ’yung mga batang nang aagaw ng pagkain na naman ito. Pero grabe, kawawa naman si tatay. Hindi ko alam kung ano yung inaagaw nila kay tatay. Kung makikita nyo po may hawak na stick yung batang naka green (I thought these were the kids snatching food, again. Alas! How pitiful was the old man. I couldn’t tell what they were grabbing away from him. If you can spot the kid in green was even holding a stick),” Jamolin wrote.
Just last Monday, a similar video clip of kids hurting a jeepney passenger and snatching her food on Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City went viral. Five of the seven minors involved in the incident have been rounded up and turned over to the local social welfare office.
Meantime, Jamolin said that he shared the video of the incident in Manila to spread awareness, especially among other commuters.
“Hindi ko po natulungan si tatay ng oras na ’yan. Nangyari pong nasa loob po ako ng bus. Na isipan ko pong i-video po kasi akala ko mga snatcher lang, yun po yung unang naisip (mag video) agad para ma report po sa police and sa kinuukulan po (I failed to help the old man at the time. It happened while I was inside a bus. I thought of taking the video, thinking it was a snatching incident that could be reported to police and authorities),” Jamolin said in his Facebook post.
Jamolin did follow through by reporting the incident and showing the video to the Manila Police District.
A follow-up report said the kids have been identified and taken by police to the Paco Police Community Precinct for investigation and subsequent turnover to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).