Another MMDA traffic aide hurt in close call on Edsa

TRAFFIC PLAN MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino shows the rerouting plan around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in a file photo

Another traffic constable of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was injured on the job even as the agency’s chief appealed to motorists to show more respect to MMDA personnel, who of late have been falling victim to road rage or reckless driving, including one that turned fatal last week.

The police said Roger Borres, 28, suffered bruises after the motorbike he was driving got bumped from behind by a Jayross passenger bus driven by Ferryzaldo Bansuela, 41, at 6:35 p.m. Friday on the northbound lane of Edsa in Cubao, Quezon City.

Borres, who was then on duty, was brought to East Avenue Medical Center for treatment, while Bansuela was taken into custody by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

But according to QCPD-Traffic Enforcement Unit chief Superintendent Ely Pintang, no criminal charges were filed against Bansuela as Borres agreed to a settlement and accepted payment for the damage to the motorcycle.

The incident was considered an accident, Pintang said on Saturday, noting that the bus driver “was in a hurry.”

Still, Pintang noted that it was a close call coming on the heels of a road encounter also on Edsa that killed one of Borres’ colleagues, Sonny Acosta, who was dragged by the vehicle he had flagged down for a lane violation on Dec. 19.

Acosta, whose hand got caught in the vehicle’s window as the motorist sped off and ran over him in the process, suffered severe injuries and lay comatose in the hospital until he died five days later.

The police on Dec. 20 arrested Mark Ian Libunao, the alleged driver of the Isuzu Sportivo in the hit-and-run incident, and initially charged him with reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries, which may soon be upgraded to homicide now that the victim had died.

They also cited Libunao, a 32-year-old family driver from San Miguel, Bulacan province, for driving with an expired license.

Acosta’s remains were cremated Sunday morning at Floresco Funeral Homes in Malabon City.

On his weekly radio program, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino cited Acosta’s death in appealing to motorists to regard civilian traffic officers like him with more respect.

“One lesson that we can get from this incident is the aspect of respect, the respect we need to give… people in authority,” said Tolentino, who also assailed Libunao for continuously denying he was the motorist flagged down by Acosta “despite being identified by witnesses.”

“He (Libunao) showed no respect for traffic regulations when he used the lane for provincial buses and he also disrespected the traffic enforcer who courteously told him about his violation and asked for his license,” the official stressed.

Aside from helping Acosta’s family pay the hospital bills, Tolentino said the MMDA would also extend educational assistance to the three daughters the traffic constable had left behind.-Jaymee T. Gamil, Maricar B. Brizuela