Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has relieved the head of the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT) following an incident involving an ambulance on the EDSA busway last Monday.
Reports said the SAICT official flagged the ambulance during operations because it was transporting a patient for a medical checkup and not an emergency. The vehicle was later allowed to proceed.
Lopez clarified that all on-duty ambulances are permitted to use the busway, regardless of a patient’s medical condition. Under existing DOTr policy issued in November 2023, ambulances, fire trucks, and Philippine National Police vehicles on duty may use the lane. Darwin G. Amojelar
The Department of Transportation expressed sympathy to the patient’s family and assured the public that enforcement policies would be carried out with compassion, with safety as the agency’s top priority. SAICT personnel assigned to the EDSA busway have been ordered to undergo reorientation on agency policies.
The EDSA Busway Project, supported by the DPWH and MMDA, aims to improve mass transit efficiency, safety, and accessibility along Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare. It served 66,669,287 passengers in 2025, up from 63,022,953 in 2024.
