Authorities on Tuesday warned the public against bogus traffic enforcers flagging down erring motorists and extorting money from them.
The Metro Manila Development Authority made this warning following reports that a driver went to the MMDA headquarters to redeem his license confiscated by a “traffic enforcer” last Monday on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
“The citation ticket issued against the driver is a fake, and we don’t have a traffic enforcer with that name. We will investigate this. The motorist went here to get his license, but the problem is we don’t have it because [the arresting officer and ticket is] a fake,” said MMDA acting general manager Jose Arturo Garcia.
“The agency does not have the motorist’s driver’s license. The person who apprehended him is not a legitimate traffic enforcer of the agency,” said Garcia.
Garcia said the suspect traffic enforcer issued a fake traffic violation ticket to the motorist he apprehended for reckless driving along Edsa. He said the “enforcer” tried to extort money from the driver, a resident of Mandaluyong City.
Garcia said motorists can ask traffic enforcers for their mission orders and check their uniforms to see if they are in their designated beat.
“It is the responsibility of the traffic enforcer to carry his mission order at all times. If he does not have his mission order with him, he is unauthorized to apprehend and issue citation tickets,” said Garcia.
The MMDA official, however, admitted that mission orders could also be faked, but drivers can check if the order has official signatures.
In his complaint, the motorist claimed he did not doubt the supposed enforcer’s identity, since he was wearing the agency’s uniform.
Garcia said MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim has ordered his men to probe the matter.
Meanwhile, Garcia reminded the public that a traffic enforcer cannot just confiscate a driver’s license for a simple traffic violation, except when the motorist is involved in a road crash.
Garcia also urged the public to report dubious traffic enforcers who taint the image of the agency.
“Motorists have the right to ask for the mission order, signed by their traffic sector heads,” he stressed.
The MMDA is now considering replacing the uniforms of their traffic constables after these extortion reports.
Two weeks ago, Inter-Agency Council on Traffic chief Tomas Orbos also came up with the same warning, saying a group of individuals are posing as I-ACT teams and conducting road clearing operations and apprehending erring motorists in Metro Manila.
“Some motorists have informed me that they were accosted by enforcers claiming to be from I-ACT. We don't want the name of I-ACT to be tarnished. Its personnel were chosen carefully, not all enforcers qualify to be I-ACT,” Orbos said.
I-ACT is special team composed of personnel from the MMDA, Department of Transportation, Police Highway Patrol Group, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and local government unit traffic officers.
Orbos said their operations, by its very nature, must be a group of personnel coming from several agencies.
“A group from one or two agencies does not make it an I-ACT operation. More so, one enforcer, even if he participated in an operation or wears that I-ACT vest,” Orbos pointed out.
He said I-ACT operations are not hidden in some obscure place and time.
“We don’t hide our operations and surprise motorists because our operations are planned and coordinated,” he said.
Orbos said all I-ACT personnel carry authorized IDs and mission orders and the operations don't have boundaries.
“As it is inter-agency, it can operate outside Metro Manila when need be. In fact, plans are underway to implement similar operations protocol in Cebu given a call by the private sector in the said area,” he said.
I-ACT operations also carry heavier penalties, as it can issue tickets for various traffic violations. Other agencies can only issue tickets for limited violations.
“We emphasize to our men the value of integrity and public trust. We will move against these errant unauthorized operations and we will bring notice to their respective agency heads of their misdeeds for proper action,” said Orbos.