MANILA -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday filed a complaint before the Land Transportation Office (LTO) asking for the suspension or revocation of the driver license of a prosecutor who was arguing with traffic enforcers after she was caught for illegal parking last Tuesday.
A video that was uploaded on Facebook showed that the woman refused to present her driver’s license as she told the enforcers that she arrived within five minutes after being notified of the violation.
Her husband later appeared and explained that she was a prosecutor and has been suffering miscarriage.
“Ang aksyon ng ahensya gumawa kami ng complaint sa LTO na baka pwede ma-suspend yung license niya or ma-revoke pa dahil sa ganoong attitude (We have filed a complaint before the LTO asking that her license be suspended or even revoked because of her attitude),” MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia told a press briefing.
MMDA Special Task Force Operations commander Bong Nebrija said the woman was arrogant when she was caught by the enforcers. The woman almost hit with her vehicle a traffic enforcer as she tried to drive away.
"Yung nangyari the tension was high yesterday noong hinarang namin yan talagang palaban ang driver. We tried to deescalate the situation nakita niyo naman kung paano ko siya kinausap, paano ko nilayo yung mga enforcers kasi emotional ang mga enforcers dahil isa sa kasamahan nila ay muntik masagasaan (The tension was high yesterday and the driver was resistant. We tried to deescalate the situation you saw how I approached her, how I asked the enforcers to be at a distance as they were emotional because one of them was almost got hit by her vehicle),” Nebrija said.
“I was the one who talked to her para alamin kung ano nangyari. Kinausap ko siya saka yung enforcer just to deescalate the situation. Despite this, confrontational pa rin ang babae (I was the one who talked to her to know the situation. I talked to her as well as the enforcer just to deescalate the situation. Despite this, the woman was confrontational),” he added.
Nebrija said its legal team is considering to file additional charges against the prosecutor such as violation of the number coding scheme and direct assault of traffic enforcers.
Meanwhile, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said it will take action on the complaint that will be filed by the MMDA against the prosecutor on Thursday.
“The MMDA GM (General Manager) called me up this morning and informed me that the MMDA will file a complaint tomorrow. I’ll take it up from there,” Guevarra told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Garcia stressed that motorists should immediately surrender their licenses if they were caught violating traffic rules by the enforcers to avoid any confrontation.
“Sana po maging aral na eto sa atin: Simpleng traffic violation huwag na kayong makipag-away bigay niyo lang lisensya niyo titiketan na kayo tapos na agad yan wala pang 1 to 2 minutes kaysa magkaroon pa ng confrontations (Hope that this will serve as a lesson to us: Simple traffic violation do not argue just give your license and you will be issued tickets this will be done within 1 to 2 minutes rather than engaging in confrontations),” he said. (With reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
