MANILA - Pampanga 1st District Rep. Carmelo Jon B Lazatin II has denied owning the vehicle captured in a now-viral video.

The video showed a driver of an FJ Cruiser, which bore vehicle plate number 8 reserved for congressmen, berating a fellow motorist.

Lazatin said he only took office in the 17th Congress while the plate in the video was from the 16th Congress. He added, he doesn't own an FJ Cruiser.

“Dahil newly elected ako, wala pa naman na-isyu na plaka ang 17th congress. So kung makikita niyo po sa video ang plakang ginamit 16th congress, so di pa ako representante noon. Walang kaugnayan po sa akin anumang viral video ang lumabas,” he said in a press conference.

[I am newly-elected and yet to be issued an '8' plate number. If you saw the video, the plate was used during the 16th congress and I was not yet a representative then.]

He also noted that none of his children may be involved since they are still minors.

Lazatin believes his name was linked because the incident in the viral video happened in his district.

Lazatin is the son of former Congressman Carmelo Tarzan Lazatin who served in the 15th Congress. Their district was represented by Yeng Guiao in the 16th Congress.

Lazatin said he is also curious about the vehicle's owner, as he knew the victims in the traffic altercation.

“Gusto ko malaman sino gumagamit ng FJ Cruiser na yan. Actually may viral video nakita ko prior po itong nangyari may nalabas na video ng 2017, same FJ Cruiser, naka-plakang otso," he said.

[I also want to find out who owns that vehicle.]

Lazatin also called on lawmakers to surrender vehicle plates from the previous Congress since these are valid only for that congressional term.