Spanish national airs side, questions if police would also shoot him like Ragos

The Spanish national who was involved in a scuffle with a Makati police officer on Sunday over his staff’s supposed ECQ violation gave his side of the story.

“I wasn’t aware that there is a law saying that inside your own property you must wear a face mask,” Javier Salvador Parra said in an email to the media.

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Parra said his housemaid Cherelyn Escalante was in his front yard watering the plants on Sunday. A barangay staff, however, saw her not wearing a face mask. Senior Master Sergeant Roland Von Madrona then came and asked the Makati foreigner to pay P1,000 fine for the violation of Escalante.

The foreign national said the housemaid went to him to report what happened. He then went outside to confront the police and asked why he needed to pay the fine for the supposed violation.

“I told him frankly that a fine isn’t necessary as it occurred on private property. It escalated with the policeman charging at me and trespassing my private property without a valid search warrant and wanting to arrest me for no valid reason,” he said.

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Parra’s wife and a village guard, Esteban Gaan, caught the whole incident in a video. The wife could be heard begging the police not to hurt Parra.

“Despite this, on my own lawn, the policeman grabbed my hands and brutally threw me to the ground and caused me physical injury and abrasions,” Parra recounted.

Also read: Senators Ejercito, Gatchalian want foreigner in Makati incident deported

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Spanish national hurt in the Makati incident

The foreign national added he was also suffering from a spinal injury, and that is being thrown on the ground caused him “immense” physical pain.

Parra was able to escape the arrest by running inside his house as his wife continued to argue with the police officer.

“Does Makati police not have better things to do, like stop real criminals? If there was no camera running, would he perhaps have shot me, as the policeman did with the mentally challenged man a few days ago?” said Parra.

Last week, a Quezon City police officer shot dead a “mentally challenged” and retired military Corporal Winston Ragos for also supposed ECQ violation. The Philippine Army said Ragos was granted a complete disability discharge due to his mental disorder.

Another video meanwhile showed Madrona calmly explaining the supposed ECQ violation to the housemaid until Parra and his wife came out of the house and hurled expletives at the police.