STARTING Monday next week, marked government vehicles will no longer be allowed to use the exclusive bus lane along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said yesterday.
“Starting Monday, clearly-marked government vehicles are barred from using the EDSA bus carousel lane,” MMDA chief Romando Artes said in a press briefing yesterday, adding the agency’s traffic enforcers will strictly enforce the prohibition.
Under current rules, the EDSA bus carousel lane is exclusive for public utility buses but ambulances and marked government vehicles responding to emergency situations are allowed to pass through.
Artes said a memorandum issued by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista last Wednesday stated that only authorized public utility buses, emergency vehicles, as well as vehicles ferrying the President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker, and Chief Justice are allowed to use the carousel lane.
Asked about vehicles ferrying senators or congressmen, Artes said they are included in the DOTr memorandum.
The vehicles of Cabinet officials, senators or congressmen or those with protocol plates 6, 7 and 8 are not in the list,” Artes said, adding that even Bautista did not ask to be exempt from the prohibition.
MMDA traffic enforcers fined 114 motorists — 50 motorcycle riders and 64 four-wheeled drive vehicles — yesterday for violating the exclusive bus lane.
NAME-DROPPERS
TWO drivers who name-dropped Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to escape being fined for violating the exclusive bus lane surrendered to the MMDA yesterday afternoon.
The two appeared before Artes at the agency’s head office in Pasig City, hours after the MMDA chief announced that the owner of the vehicles that were flagged down by their traffic enforcers on the EDSA northbound bus lane in Mandaluyong City reached out to him through a common friend.
The two were issued traffic violation tickets and fined P5,000 each.
“The two drivers admitted that Sen. Revilla was not onboard their vehicle when they were flagged down by traffic enforcers implementing the EDSA bus lane regulation,” Artes said, adding they also verified that Revilla is not the owner of the vehicle.
Artes did not say, however, why the drivers used Revilla’s name when they were accosted by the traffic enforcers.
He added the apprehending traffic enforcers admitted he did not personally see Revilla in the vehicle and just relied on the statement of its driver who name-dropped the senator.
“The Agency considers this a welcome development in light of the incident as the agency conducts a probe and determines the lapses in the procedures in the implementation of the EDSA bus lane regulation,” said Artes, adding it is now up to Revilla if he would file charges against the two for name-dropping him.
“We will send the report to Sen. Revilla and it is up to him to do what is necessary to those who namedropped him,” Artes said.
Artes did not identify the owner of the vehicles or the drivers involved.
Last Wednesday, Artes suspended MMDA Task Force Special Operations chief Edison “Bong” Nebrija who reported that a vehicle in a convoy flagged down by traffic enforcers was ferrying Revilla.
Artes said Nebrija’s preventive suspension, which took effect yesterday, will last from 15 days to one month as they need to thoroughly investigate the incident to prevent a repeat in the future.
Artes and Nebrija went to Revilla’s office last Wednesday and apologized for the gaffe. Revilla accepted their apologies.
DATA PRIVACY
Artes said the agency will not publicly disclose the names of traffic violators as it will constitute a violation of the Data Privacy Act.
“We should not really mention the names of traffic violators. It is sufficient that we issue them traffic violation tickets with the corresponding penalty,” he told reporters in a press conference.
“We have the Data Privacy Law that protects these kinds of information. Disclosing the names would be a clear violation of the Data Privacy Law,” Artes, a lawyer, added.
