File complaint vs abusive drivers, MMDA tells ‘harassed’ traffic men

AFTER one of its traffic constables was nearly hit by an errant motorist last week, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has advised its personnel to file complaints against abusive drivers.

During the agency’s weekly radio program, MMDA Assistant General Manager Emerson Carlos reminded traffic constables Sunday that they could always file a report in the agency’s Complaints Division against drivers who hurt or harass them.

At the same time, he said that motorists who have a grievance against any of their men may also go to the division to ask for help.

Last Wednesday, traffic constable Johnny Llena tried to stop a white Hyundai sedan traveling on Edsa, Quezon City after he caught its driver, Robert Trinidad, texting on his cell phone.

But instead of stopping, Trinidad drove off, almost hitting Llena’s legs with his car in his haste to leave.

“The traffic enforcer had to follow him until [he was finally apprehended] at a busy intersection,” Carlos said, adding that they later discovered that Trinidad had also violated the MMDA’s number coding scheme.

According to Carlos, the MMDA has asked its Traffic Discipline Office to take legal action against the driver.

Open to both parties

Asked what traffic enforcers should do when they encounter abusive drivers, Carlos said that the MMDA’s Complaints Division was ready to accommodate any of its personnel.

The office will also be open to motorists, he added. “Once they file their complaints [in] our office, we will immediately call the attention of the traffic constable involved,” he said.

Earlier this year, the agency said it was planning to set up “roadside courts” primarily to address allegations of extortion against its personnel or even motorists who offer bribes to its traffic constables.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino initially said that the courts would be put up in selected areas like Edsa, Circumferential Road 5 (C5), Commonwealth Avenue, Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard.

But while the roadside courts were still in the works, Carlos said that anybody with a grievance—whether it be a traffic constable against a motorist or vice versa—may go to the MMDA’s Complaints Division.

He noted that traffic enforcers used to go to the police whenever they had a run-in with an abusive driver although more often than not, the complaints were not followed up.

“As for our Complaints Division, we have asked them to find a way to locate abusive motorists,” Carlos said, noting that the MMDA’s Traffic Discipline Office was planning to file a case against Trinidad for direct assault [upon a] person in authority.

He added that the agency has asked the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to take action against Trinidad.

According to Carlos, since the start of the year, there have been 15 incidents of drivers being abusive toward MMDA personnel. “This is a reflection that some motorists do not give respect to the people who are enforcing traffic rules and regulations,” he said.

In December last year, MMDA traffic enforcer Sonny Acosta died after he was dragged for several meters by a sport utility vehicle whose driver he had apprehended for using the lane designated for buses.

“We are appealing to the motorists not to hit our traffic constables since they are only doing their job of enforcing traffic rules,” Carlos said.

He also warned erring drivers who flee after being flagged by their men that they could still be traced through a check with the LTO. Maricar B. Brizuela