Party-list lawmaker faces probe for punching waiter

MANILA, Philippines — For allegedly punching a waiter in a restaurant in Legazpi City, a neophyte lawmaker is being investigated by his party-list group and may face a complaint before the House of Representatives ethics committee.  

Closed-circuit television camera footage at Bigg’s Diner showed Rep. Alfred delos Santos of Ang Probinsyano party-list hitting 20-year-old Christian Kent Alejo.  

“We will not tolerate any kind of abuse in our party. We will not hesitate to suspend or even remove Congressman Delos Santos if we establish that this was an unprovoked attack,” Ang Probinsyano spokesman Joco Sabio said.  

Alejo was reportedly with three other persons when the incident occurred. Two of his companions were identified as Wendell Morasa and Kim Castillo.

“Just like everyone else, the party is concerned and really disappointed with what happened. We are not taking this sitting down... we are taking all the necessary steps to make sure that this will not happen again in the future,” Sabio said.  

He also gave assurance that Delos Santos would be given a chance to air his side.

“Despite all the flak that our party is getting because of this incident, we will still accord him the right to due process,” Sabio said.  

He said Delos Santos’ actions and decisions are his own and “should not reflect on the party as an organization.” 

According to a police report,  Delos Santos punched Alejo “without any apparent reason” and the waiter “luckily avoided it.”

Ang Probinsyano or Alyansa ng Mamamayang Probinsyano was among the six party-list groups that won two House seats in the May elections.

The party-list had been criticized for using ABS-CBN’s television hit series “Ang Probinsyano” during the campaign. It also got the TV program’s main actors Coco Martin and Yassi Pressman as endorsers.