Road rage suspect says cyclist was arrogant

MANILA – ''Sa lahat ng mga motorista, maging mahinahon po tayo. Huwag po niyo akong pamarisan."

These were the words of a visibly contrite Vhon Tanto, the suspect in the road rage killing of cyclist Mark Vincent Geralde in Manila's Quiapo district.

Tanto, a former Army reservist, earned the public's ire when a CCTV footage surfaced showing him shooting Geralde several times following a fistfight on P. Casal Street last Monday.

After days in hiding, Tanto was taken into police custody in his wife's hometown in Milagros, Masbate.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Tanto admitted that his temper got the best of him when he repeatedly shot Geralde.
''Wala po akong intensyon. Nandilim lang ang paningin ko,'' he said.
Tanto claimed, Geralde acted arrogantly. He said Geralde's confrontational stance resulted in their fistfight and the fatal shooting.

He explained, the confrontation started when his car, a Hyundai Eon, and Geralde's bike nearly had a collision along Vergara Street.
''Binaba ko yung salamin sa kanang banda sabi ko, 'Kuya pasensya ka na kasi di ko naman sinasadya at tsaka di naman tayo nagpang-abot'. Sabi ko sa kanya dapat mag-iingat kayo kasi dapat ang bisikleta, sa gilid lang. Bigla akong minura, sabi niya 'G**o ka pala eh.' Sabi ko, Kuya, huwag kang magmura.' Hanggang sa patuloy pa rin ang pagmumura niya,'' Tanto said.

''Nung sinabi niya na, 'Gusto mo basagin ko pa ang salamin mo?' Dun na ako napikon. Tsaka may dugo na ako noon kasi may tumamang matigas na bagay sa akin. Kaya hilo hilo na ako noon."
Tanto claimed he tried to calm down Geralde by apologizing, but the latter still continued to curse him.
''Nag-sorry na ako sa kanya, minumura pa rin ako. Nag-pangabot na kami. Llamado siya, matangkad ba. Hanggang sa nilock niya [ang leeg ko]. Makikita naman po sa CCTV.
''Hindi ko masyadong maano ang hawak niyang matigas na bagay na tumama sa mukha ko kaya nahilo hilo ako. Hanggang sa ni-lock niya ang leeg ko. Nanghina ako. Binitawan na lang niya ako nung 'di na ako kumikilos, gumagalaw."
Tanto said he and his family had just come from Bulacan when the road rage shooting occurred.
"Galing kami ng Bulacan, dinrop ko ang mag-ina ko. Kasama ko ang pangalawang anak ko na natutulog,'' he said.

source: ABS-CBN