Nope, emergency meeting unacceptable excuse to use EDSA carousel lane

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'Kapag po kasi sinabi natin na miyembro ng PNP, ambulansiya, fire truck — hindi po kasama doon iyong emergency meeting. Kung may emergency meeting, mas maganda po umalis sila nang maaga sa kanilang bahay,' Malacañang Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro says

In light of another traffic controversy involving the Philippine National Police (PNP), no less than Malacañang has said that an emergency meeting could not be used as an excuse to use the EDSA busway — a lane intended only for carousel buses.

“Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, mayroon naman pong probisyon dito na kapag po in case of emergency and on duty, allowed naman po silang gumamit ng busway, EDSA busway. Pero dapat lamang po, ito ay mapatunayan. Hindi po ‘to maaaring maabuso at gagamitin lang po iyong salitang ’emergency,'” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said during a Palace briefing on Thursday, February 27.

(If I’m not mistaken, there’s a provision here that says that in case of emergency and when on duty, some personnel are allowed to use the EDSA busway. But they need to prove it. This policy cannot be abused by just using the word “emergency.”)

The Department of Transportation’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT) flagged a PNP convoy along Ortigas for using the special lane on Tuesday. Some videos shared online showed that the PNP convoy allegedly asked the DOTr personnel to let them through because PNP chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil allegedly needed to reach the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“There’s an emergency and there’s an issue that we have to resolve…there’s a law na kapag (that if there’s an) emergency, you can use the bus lane,” Marbil explained in a DZBB interview on February 26.

But when asked if he was in the said convoy, Marbil gave an incomprehensible answer: “Ang sinasabi ko, wala na po kaming ano, because ang plate number po kasi, nalabas…I will not say kasi nalabas po ‘yong plate number and you have to respect po. ‘Yan lang po ‘yong inaano natin (What I’m saying, we don’t have…. because the vehicle’s plate number had been publicized. I will not say anything because the plate number had been publicized and you have to respect. That’s what I’m saying).”

But according to no less than Malacañang, Marbil’s excuse was not part of the list of exemptions that allow the use of the special lane.

“Kapag po kasi sinabi natin na miyembro ng PNP, ambulansiya, fire truck — hindi po kasama doon iyong emergency meeting. Kung may emergency meeting, mas maganda po umalis sila nang maaga sa kanilang bahay (When we say PNP personnel, ambulance, fire truck — emergency meeting is not included. If there’s an emergency meeting, it’s better to leave home earlier instead),” Castro said.

It’s not the first time the PNP got embroiled in a controversy related to the EDSA busways. Earlier this month, the PNP Highway Patrol Group launched a probe into a viral video that showed HPG personnel allegedly confronting SAICT personnel for flagging them for using the exclusive busway.

Based on the DOTr’s guidelines, there are only three types of vehicles allowed to use the exclusive lane:

• Buses authorized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
• On-duty ambulances, firetrucks, and PNP marked vehicles
• Service vehicles performing tasks for the EDSA busway, like construction, security, janitorial, and maintenance services

“I asked him [Marbil] to appear [in the meeting], so kung anuman ang methodology niya para papunta roon (so whatever methodology he used to get there), let me make it clear, I did not give instructions to violate any traffic laws to get there. But he was aware of the emergency,” Interior chief Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla clarified during Wednesday’s Malacañang briefing.

Remulla said even he doesn’t use the EDSA busway, adding that his agency and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority had a firm agreement to impose a zero-tolerance policy for traffic violators.

“It [the incident] will be investigated, whether it is an abuse of authority or not,” the interior chief, who oversees the PNP, said. – Rappler.com