And while Canton's death was accidental, Minister Oscar Requena was trying to avoid another deadly incident when he reportedly swerved off the road to avoid hitting a motorcyclist near Mafredi Village on Sunday night. But while he missed the cyclist, he did hit a lamppost, plunging a large section of the Toledo District and his own constituency into darkness.
And while no one was injured, according to the police report, the minister and his Chevy Silverado Pickup left from the scene before a statement could be taken or a sketch plan could be drawn. Today, at another event, we asked him about the accident.
Oscar Requena, Minister of Labor
"Yes, over the weekend, unfortunately, I was, you know, carrying out my constituency duties. And on my way back, unfortunately, there was a cyclist that came into my way, you know, right where I was coming. And to be honest, I had to decide between having the potential of knocking down someone or diverting away from that individual. I chose to do the latter. Praise God, you know, it was a very close call. I had to really manoeuvre the vehicle. Yes, you know, the vehicle did receive some damage, but praise God, I'm here. I'm okay. And, no one was hurt."
Reporter
"Some were complaining that you were using the vehicle, you know, after hours on a weekend, but you said that you were doing it for work business."
Oscar Requena, Minister of Labor
"Let's be real. Let's be real. There are persons out there, political mischief makers. And I want to say it's unfortunate that, you know, out of potential tragedy. That people would want to make all kinds of allegations and it's unfortunate that, you know, you should not use someone's misfortune to be able to make these kinds of petty, mischievous allegations. You know, honestly, I am a very hard working minister. I am in my constituency. I am out there working. Over the weekend, we were running the third annual Requena Football Tournament every weekend we do that. Our people are out there working very hard. I am out there, you know, and in fact, I was coming from one of the villages when that happened. So I'm here. Praise God for that. We continue to work."
Reporter
"The police report says that the vehicle was removed from the scene before they could do their sketch plan. Shouldn't you have followed all police procedures as they are regulated?"
Oscar Requena, Minister of Labor
"Well, let me see. Obviously when it happened, I have to tell the people who were the first responders who were there, they were obviously concerned about my safety. And, what happened is that the persons who reached to, you know, to check on me, asked me to leave, because obviously I was shaken. Yeah. And I left. And, you know, thereafter, I had people who came to support and they moved the vehicle. I was already, I had already left by then, so it's, that's what transpired."
Reporter
"Did you offer a urine sample?"
Oscar Requena, Minister of Labor
"I went home, you know, I went to rest because I was shaking. I didn't see the police."
However, when we asked the ComPol about it, he said that the police did meet Requena on the scene.
Still, Requena says he will be going into the police station to make a report.
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