Commuters and a marshal of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) got a surprise of their lives after they witnessed how a beggar on crutches suddenly began to walk and even ran later at the EDSA Carousel Ortigas Avenue stop.
No, it wasn't a miracle but a man pretending to be disable who suddenly forgot his acting skills over intense anger when PCG Marshal SN2 Julius Gibran Abundol III attempted to escort him away from the busway on May 31.
It all started when commuters of the EDSA Carousel Ortigas Avenue bus station sought assistance from the PCG personnel as the man in crutches was harassing them.
In a statement, the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) on Tuesday, June 1 said the man was threatening the commuters with a knife if they would not give him money.
Abundol then attempted to escort him away from the busway but he refused to leave the area.
“Sabi ko po, sir, tumabi po kayo kasi gawa po nung natatakot yung mga commuters na nakapila. Nung naglalakad po kami papunta sa poste parang may binubunot po siya, sinasabihan ko siya na sir umalis na po kayo, nung naglalakad po siya minumura niya po ako (I said, sir, step aside because the commuters in line were scared. When we were walking towards the area he seemed to be pulling something, I told him sir you should leave, when he was walking he was cursing me),” Abundol said in an interview over GMA News 24 Oras.
In a video shared by the I-ACT, the man then pulled out a knife and started chasing after Abundo.
Abundol pinned the man down to disarm him and with the help of a bus controller in the area, they searched the man for any other possible weapons.
A Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) personnel in the area responded to the scene to offer assistance and pacify the situation.
Meanwhile, the I-ACT reminded the public to remain vigilant and report similar instances to the security personnel deployed in the stations.
“The I-ACT requests the public to refrain from publishing or reposting malicious content on social media that distort the facts of this incident,” it said.
“The council has since bolstered its surveillance and will continue to ensure the deployment of I-ACT Marshals in the EDSA Carousel bus stops for the safety and security of the riding public,” it added.