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Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro on Tuesday submitted his counter affidavit and presented 28 witnesses to refute the acts of lasciviousness and rape by sexual assault complaints filed against him before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Teodoro was accompanied by his wife, Marikina Mayor Marjorie Ann Teodoro, and his legal counsel, Alma Mallonga, for the first day of the preliminary investigation of the case.

According to Mallonga, the 28 witnesses came to the DOJ to show that ‘the incredible tale being presented by the complainants could not have even happened.’

Two female police officers who were assigned as Teodoro’s close-in security previously filed the complaint-affidavits against the lawmaker for alleged violations of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

In a statement on Sept. 25, the DOJ said one of the complainants claimed that during the early period of her assignment, Teodoro allegedly committed acts of lasciviousness against her.

Meanwhile, the other female police officer, who had earlier served as close-in security to Teodoro’s wife and was later assigned to the lawmaker himself, alleged RPC violations under Article 266-A(2) or rape by sexual assault, as well as Article 336 or acts of lasciviousness.

Teodoro had denied the accusations against him and filed perjury charges against the two police officers.

Mallonga told reporters that during Tuesday’s proceedings, they asked the two police officers for details about their affidavits, particularly the unidentified witnesses to the alleged crimes.

‘What’s surprising here is that they did not want to answer. The complainants refused to respond and said they needed a lawyer, which is strange . In our view, it shows that their story is purely fiction,’ the lawyer said.

The panel of prosecutors scheduled the next hearing on Oct. 28, with Mallonga expressing confidence that the ‘truth will prevail’ over the ‘sham complaints.’

‘False claims of rape, those fabricated stories about rape, harm everyone, especially the real victims of rape. That’s why we hope this will not happen again, and we are confident that the process will ultimately yield the justice that Congressman Teodoro deserves,’ Mallonga said. /gsg

What Samuel Richardson said, that ‘Calamity is the test of integrity,’ rings true now more than ever. When Typhoon ‘Opong’ hit Masbate, it was more than just a storm-it was a test of every politician’s character. How they responded in its aftermath revealed their true motives for serving in public office.

However, subsequent disaster relief efforts revealed a sad, unspoken truth: many of those holding office were unprepared and, worse, thin-skinned. When affected residents criticized their poor preparations and responses, instead of showing humility or fixing their mistakes, many officials took offense. When residents voiced their frustration and called out their glaring incompetence, they resorted to conduct unbecoming of public officials-berating complainants on social media and threatening those who spoke up, to name a few.

Can they really blame these typhoon-affected people? Resources weren’t used properly, evacuation plans were poorly executed, if there was even one, and worse, some barangay or municipal disaster risk reduction and management committees/councils did not even convene. Most of the local government’s calamity budget was not released or used on time, leaving communities helpless. The people have every right, a duty even, to call out the insecure, inept, and self-serving nature of politicians who prioritize their own ego and image, who would pose only for photo ops, at the expense of the citizens they swore to protect.

A true public servant should see a disaster and the people’s anger as a call to act with courage and compassion. They should take responsibility and focus on helping people recover. The fake ones, however, are exposed in times of crisis.

Typhoon Opong made it clear to the people of Masbate who was genuine and who was not. At least, I hope so.

Ahtisa Manalo, the Philippines’ representative in the 74th Miss Universe pageant, is seeking participants who would like to be featured in her video for the international competition.

The initiative takes off from the ‘Mabuhay’ opening dance number that she and the rest of her fellow candidates performed during the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines coronation night in May that trended online.

‘May the Universe join us in the Philippine way to welcome [musical notes emoji] MABUHAY! Join my video!’ Manalo posted on social media.

Those interested in contributing their videos are instructed to use the ‘Mabuhay MUPH’ audio and perform the official dance choreography.

‘Showcase a landmark from your province, city, or town-let’s highlight the beauty of the Philippines!’ Manalo reminded us in her post.

Videos taken using either a camera or a smartphone will be accepted, but only those using the ‘LOG color profile’ and with a resolution of 4K or 1080p. The orientation should be landscape.

Send entries to [email protected]. The deadline for submission is on Oct. 20, at 11:59 P.M.

‘Be creative and be part of my special video for Miss Universe! Let’s make the world shout ‘MABUHAY!’ Manalo said.

More than 130 delegates are expected to take part in the 74th Miss Universe pageant in Thailand next month.

Reigning Danish queen Victoria Kjær Theilvig will crown her successor at the Impact Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi, northwest of Bangkok, on Nov. 21.

Manalo hopes to become the fifth Filipino woman to be crowned Miss Universe, seven years since her Binibining Pilipinas batchmate Catriona Gray won the title in Bangkok. /edv

The collective anger from ordinary citizens , taxpayers and flood ravaged communities is palpable. The massive plunder involving flood control projects is not merely an affront to public trust- it is an assault on the very dignity of the people. This is not the time for half-measures or empty promises. The demand is clear: those who have betrayed the nation’s trust must be jailed without bail, and justice must be swift and uncompromising.

The Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) continues its ‘secret’ investigations, Newly minted Ombudsman Boying Remulla promised to charge more than 200 persons, hardworking DPWH secretary are discovering more and more ghost and substandard projects while filing left and right cases at the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) , Bureau of Customs (BOC) , Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC),

But the public keenly awaits the filing of formal charges of plunder against those involved and the subsequent start of its trial. This would mean the automatic imprisonment without bail of the accused and the start of government’s efforts to recover the stolen money.

The open and public confessions of DPWH officials-Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Assistant Regional Director Henry Alcantara, District Engineer Brice Hernandez, in cahoots with 20 other officers from Bulacan’s first Engineering District-are deliberate acts that enabled the plunder of billions of pesos taxpayers’ money. All of them should be put behind bars ASAP. Add to this the network of alleged bagmen and favored contractors, including Wawao Builders, Discaya-owned St. Timothy, Syms Construction Trading, M3 Konstract Corporation, Amethyst Horizon Builders and Gen. Contractor and Development Corp., TopNotch Catalyst Builders Inc., IM Construction Corp., and others,

Let us be clear: those who orchestrated, facilitated, or profited from this grand theft deserve nothing less than imprisonment without bail. The gravity of the crime-the scale of public suffering inflicted-demands that these individuals face the full force of the law, with no opportunity for escape or influence-peddling. Of course ,only after undergoing due process.

The scandal does not end with DPWH officials and contractors. The accusations leveled by Bernardo , Alcantara and Hernandez against Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero, former House Appropriations Chair Zaldy Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez must be held to the same standard.

Jail without bail must apply to the highest echelons of power if the evidence warrants. No senator, congressman, or public official should be above the law, especially when the stakes are nothing less than the lives and welfare of millions of Filipinos.

The scale of the alleged plunder is staggering, with DPWH confirming more than 420 ghost projects nationwide , but what is even more shocking is the impunity with which these crimes have been committed. The Filipino people are tired of watching the powerful walk free after orchestrating grand heists against the nation. The law must be enforced without fear or favor. There can be no bail, no backdoor deals, no escapes through technicalities. Those implicated-whether DPWH officials, bagmen, contractors, or lawmakers-must be prosecuted to the fullest extent and jailed during the trial without bail.

The anti-plunder law exists for a reason. It is time for our justice system to prove that it is not just a paper tiger, but a true bulwark against corruption.

DPWH,QC solons ignored LGU’s Drainage Master Plan- wasted P17-B flood budget

In 2021, forward-thinking Mayor Joy Belmonte collaborated with specialists from the UP Resilience Institute and the NOAH Center to prepare a flood and drainage master plan (DMP), which the city would integrate with the national government’s efforts. This science-based and data-driven plan encompasses all 142 barangays in the city and incorporates the 44 tributaries and five major river systems that flow via its man-made drainage systems constructed by various government organizations, while also taking into account flooding issues from neighboring LGUs. The Quezon City flood and drainage master plan will only cost P24 billion. After that, it was sent to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to make sure it was in line with the national flood control plan.

Mayor Belmonte further urged her six district congressmen to advocate for national financing for this DMP through Congress and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to permanently safeguard Quezon City residents from recurring floods. However, her honest appeal to her district officials fell on deaf ears.

On Saturday, August 30, a stunning one-hour rainfall of 121 mms broke the Ondoy record set in 2009, flooding Districts 1, 3, and 4, and causing traffic to stop in numerous regions. This massive flooding highlighted the need of the city’s flood and drainage master plan.

After the recent ghost flood control scams in Bulacan broke out, it was discovered that DPWH had previously allotted to Quezon City initially 305 flood control projects worth P14 billion, and then upgraded to 331 projects for P17 billion. The sad and worst aspect is that none of these DPWH projects implemented by its first and second engineering district offices, adhered to the submitted city’s flood and drainage master plan.

Mayor Belmonte was naturally upset, as this happened under the watch of her six city congressmen. She lamented that the P17-billion DPWH budget would have nearly finished the city’s P24-billion science-based and data-driven flood and drainage master plan. She also said the lost money would have paid for the city’s backlog of 5,300 classrooms , more than 350 PhilHealth-accredited health clinics, and built more than 14,000 homes for informal settler families .

Quezon city engineers examined the actions of the DPWH first and second engineering district on these 331 flood control project. What the LGU engineers found are damning and precise: dozens of projects with incorrect or missing coordinates; identical contract sums repeated across different sites as if someone copied and pasted spreadsheets; multi-phased projects ballooning from dozens to scores of phases with no clear delineation; projects marked ‘complete’ despite being visibly incomplete. The Matalahib stream pumping station was built in a creek , and work continued even after LGU issued cease and desist orders . This shows how engineering common sense and LGU cooperation were ignored. Also, 35 ghost flood control projects were discovered along with hundreds more dubious projects worth billions of pesos.

Questions of collusion clearly prevailed over this entire system. There were patterns of corruption among contractors, the implementing agency (DPWH) and our representatives in Congress. Two city districts that are not flood prone obtained the highest flood control funds. Second District Rep. Ralph Tulfo was granted P1.137 billion in flood prevention projects, while Third District Rep. Franz Pumaren received P1.090 billion. Rep PM Vargas, the fifth district congressman, was granted P1.02 billion in his flood-prone region, whereas election loser Marvin Rillo, the fourth district congressman , tallied P1.007 billion. Rep. Marvic Co- Pilar from the sixth district, was allocated P 465.6 million, while Rep. Arjo Atayde from the first district, received P319.8 million for flood control projects. Atayde, PM Vargas, Co-Pilar, Pumaren and Rillo all disputed the charges of corruption related to flood control anomalies.

It is no wonder that Quezon City residents now feel misled and disappointed. The biggest blunder of the DPWH first and second engineering districts and the our congressmen is their purposeful failure to implement the city’s science-based and data-driven Flood and Drainage Master Plan (DMP) meant to permanently alleviate our yearly sufferings. DPWH and our elected solons disregarded everything, clearly for their own agenda and for hundreds of millions of reasons.

This waste of P17 billions of flood control projects is both an administrative embarrassment, poor governance; and a moral outrage. A scandal that raise national alarms. If PHP17 billion in Quezon City, the heart of Metro Manila-a sum large enough to transform lives-can be squandered on projects that do not exist, lack coordinates, or are simply sidewalk paint, our inefficient public procurement system was transformed into a platform for robbery and plunder of peoples’ tax money.

Mayor Belmonte, and her city engineers have done their share by documenting, inspecting, and publicly exposing these huge and shameful anomalies. . It is now up to national institutions-the ICI, the DPWH, the Ombudsman, the COA, and the President-to act quickly, visibly, and without fear or favor. Anything less will be a double betrayal: a breach of public trust by the DPWH public officers and lawmakers in Congress. Today, the flood drains of Quezon City are clogged not just with silt but with corruption of the DPWH engineering districts and our conniving elected legislators. We must unclog both. (next)

Thunderstorms are expected to hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces Tuesday, Oct. 14, the weather bureau said.

In a 6:32 a.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that moderate to heavy showers with lightning and strong winds will affect Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Zambales within the next two hours.

In Zambales, the following areas will be affected:

Subic

San Antonio

Castillejos

Olongapo

San Marcelino

San Narciso

San Felipe

Other nearby provinces, including Quezon, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, and Rizal, are already experiencing similar conditions, which may persist for the next two hours and impact surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, Pagasa said in a separate advisory that easterlies will affect parts of Luzon and Visayas, while localized thunderstorms are expected in Mindanao./mcm/abc

Straddling the dynamic municipalities of Cainta and Taytay, Sierra Valley is a groundbreaking development that redefines modern living east of Metro Manila.

Thoughtfully master planned by Robinsons Land (RLC), this expansive estate blends the best of convenience, sustainability, and tranquility. More than just a residential enclave, it’s a self-sustaining estate where everyday essentials are within reach. It offers a well-balanced lifestyle in one of Rizal’s most accessible and fast-growing areas.

Its strategic location makes it a true gateway estate-a great choice for people who want proximity to the city while enjoying the comfort and space of a suburban environment.

It’s just minutes away from major road networks like Ortigas and C5 and its accessibility ensures that residents can easily move between home, work, school, and leisure. Sierra Valley is not just a weekend destination; it’s an everyday lifestyle hub.

It combines residential, retail, and wellness features to support the routines and lifestyles of today’s homeowners. At its core is Sierra Valley Gardens, Robinsons Land’s residential community which was Highly Commended in the Best Eco-Friendly Development category at the 13th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards.

‘The recognition reflects Robinsons Land’s commitment to building sustainable communities that go beyond housing, integrating environmental responsibility into long-term planning and design,’ said RLC President and CEO Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio.

Living at Sierra Valley means choosing a community designed with the future in mind, where green spaces, smart planning, and a healthy environment are the standard.

Essential services and lifestyle options are available within the estate. The Shops @ Sierra Valley includes retail stores, salons, pet care centers, and grooming services-bringing everyday conveniences close to home.

At Sierra Valley, you can shop, stay active, nurture your pets, and connect with your community, while being surrounded by nature.

In this estate, an active lifestyle blends seamlessly into everyday life. Enjoy a fully equipped gym with spin classes, unwind at the spa, or take advantage of open green spaces that are ideal for jogging, leisurely walks, or bonding with your pets-all while soaking in the soft mountain breeze. These features are thoughtfully designed to support both physical well-being and a strong sense of community.

With wide roads, landscaped paths, and pet-friendly spaces, the community supports a balanced life-encouraging outdoor activity, social connection, and a more intentional pace of life.

At Sierra Valley, exclusivity doesn’t mean isolation-it means enjoying the best of both worlds: a connected location and a serene community-driven environment. ‘The estate is a social space where residents and visitors can spend time with friends, loved ones, furry companions, and enjoy a sense of belonging in a safe, well-planned environment,’ said Trina B. Cipriano, RLC vice president and Business Unit General Manager for Robinsons Destination Estate (RDE)

Ms. Cipriano adds that Sierra Valley is built around the idea that communities should move, connect, and thrive together. With its compelling blend of location, lifestyle, and long-term value, it’s a natural choice for families, professionals, and individuals who want more than just a place to live.

The estate is proof that you don’t have to choose among convenience, sustainability, and exclusivity. At Sierra Valley, you can enjoy them all.

Former Speaker Martin Romualdez is set to appear before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) as it investigates alleged corruption in infrastructure projects.

Romualdez’s participation follows an ICI subpoena directing him to shed light on his ‘familiarity and personal knowledge as speaker of the House relative to National Budget insertions and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) flood control projects.’

Romualdez is among the lawmakers linked to the flood control corruption scandal after a former security consultant of ex-Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co accused him of receiving kickbacks from government projects-an allegation he has denied.

ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka told reporters in a message that Romualdez has confirmed his attendance at Tuesday’s hearing.

The ICI also invited Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to provide guidance on the National Expenditure Program and General Appropriations Act.

Co-who is also implicated in the flood control scandal-was likewise summoned but is not expected to appear before the ICI, as he remains overseas despite calls from his former colleagues to return to the country and face the allegations./mcm

The House of Representatives on Monday voted 287-12-2 to pass the P6.793-trillion national budget bill on third and final reading before it adjourned for its monthlong break, even as the specter of unprogrammed appropriations (UA) and other ‘pork’ projects still hung over its version.

In a speech addressing the plenary, Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III said House Bill (HB) No. 4058 might not be perfect, but ‘we made sure nothing was hidden, nothing was concealed, with the goal to ensure that every penny of the tax paid by our citizens is given back to them in the form of opportunities, services, and hope.’

Among the salient provisions of HB 4058 is the P1.28-trillion allocation for the education cluster – the highest in the country’s history – as well as the reduced budget for the Office of the Vice President to P733 million after Vice President Sara Duterte repeatedly refused to defend her office’s proposal.

The bill also retains the P255-billion cut from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and which was realigned mainly to the agriculture (+P53.7 billion) and the health (+P90.7 billion) sectors.

Appropriations committee chair and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing called this year’s budget cycle ‘unprecedented,’ citing efforts such as inviting civil society watchdogs as ‘nonvoting observers’ and abolishing the practice of convening the notoriously opaque small committee and replacing it with the public budget amendments review subcommittee.

Problematic provisions

However, the 12 lawmakers who voted against HB 4058 said the chamber still ‘missed the call of the times’ to craft a truly responsive bill when it voted to retain several problematic provisions in the House general appropriations bill (GAB).

Those who voted ‘No’ acknowledged Suansing’s efforts at reforms, but ‘why did we still insist on P250 billion for unprogrammed funds?’ Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice asked.

Civil society watchdogs have been calling for the abolition of the UA, which are standby funds that can be tapped only when new revenue or loans materialize, amid revelations that they have been used to fund anomalous government projects.

‘This budget process was our opportunity to answer the persistent calls from the people to expunge the vestiges of corruption. But we still missed the call of the times,’ Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña said.

Echoed Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno: ‘(This is basically) P243 billion that is simply handed over to the Executive even though it is not clear how it will be used and where it will go.’

‘Not only should it be zeroed, but it should be NO, NO,’ Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima noted.

‘Pork,’ patronage

Beyond the UA, other lawmakers also noted that the 2026 House GAB still fell short of the needs of the vulnerable and the marginalized.

Kabataan Rep. Renee Co, for example, noted that a closer look at the allocations for the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education would show that students would get only around P100 a day, in contrast to P2,522 per policeman and P4,629 per soldier per day.

Representatives Sarah Elago (Gabriela) and Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers), meanwhile, echoed budget watchdogs’ concerns over the additional P32.06 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation; the P14.82 billion increase in the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers; and the increase of P26.73 billion for the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients programs. Tinio specifically criticized the guaranteed share of each legislator in the DPWH’s P881.3-billion budget, which amounts to P230 million per congressman and P3.2 billion per senator.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said they would file cases in the coming weeks in connection with their investigation into anomalous flood control projects.

Retired Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr., who took his oath on Monday as ICI special adviser, said in a press conference that the commission would begin a ‘technical validation’ of 421 flood control works initially found to be nonexistent based on field investigation.

He said the commission was ‘trying to tap also the other engineers’ besides those already enlisted to the investigation from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation will help in the case buildup resulting from the technical validation, Azurin said.

‘The volunteers, they are welcome to help, because there are so much that needs to be validated,’ he said.

Azurin said, however, that at least 15 cases may be filed before the Ombudsman in the next three to four weeks.

‘[A]nd then it will be the Ombudsman who will be determining if there is sufficient evidence to charge those referred by the ICI, and then [these charges] will be referred to the Sandiganbayan,’ the ICI adviser said.

Not satisfied with Discayas

DOJ officer in charge Fredderick Vida, in his first briefing in that capacity, said the department would file cases even without witnesses.

‘The timeline is already set. The people are impatient. If we don’t find something satisfactory, we will file the appropriate cases, with or without the state witnesses,’ he said.

Vida said the DOJ so far isn’t satisfied with the disclosures of Pacifico ‘Curlee’ and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya, the contractor couple in the center of the corruption scandal over the government’s flood control projects with private contractors.

‘In the past few weeks, and even up to now, the department has not been satisfied with what they have presented,’ he said.

According to their lawyer Cornelio Samaniego III, the Discayas delivered a ‘tell-all’ testimony before the ICI on Sept. 30 about what they knew regarding the alleged anomalies in the procurement and bidding of flood control projects.

But Vida said the DOJ had yet to receive a copy of that supposed testimony.

‘When you make a presentation, you’re telling a story, right? You’ll say, ‘On this day, I brought this amount of money to this [person].’ We have statements and testimonies that can be verified through factual and objective evidence. This is what we need to determine-whether it’s true or not, or if we’re simply being led to believe something that isn’t real,’ he said.

Vida said the DOJ would evaluate further the Discaya couple’s testimonies to determine if these were made in good faith or if the couple was being ‘selective’ about the personalities they have named so far.

‘Low-hanging fruits’

The DPWH said earlier that 421 out of 8,000 flood control works were suspected to be nonexistent or ‘ghost’ projects. This was based on its initial field inspection conducted together with the AFP, PNP and Department of Economy, Planning and Development.

ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka, who was also at the ICI press briefing with Azurin, said the inspection found that 261 of the suspected ghost projects were in Luzon, 109 in the Visayas, and 51 in Mindanao.

According to him, only 8,000 out of a total of 29,800 flood control projects conducted since 2016 have been validated.

Hosaka said the ICI would ‘zero in,’ for now, on the 421 alleged ghost projects.

‘[T]he task of the commission is too broad and too large,’ he said. ‘We will zero in [on these alleged projects] initially because. [they are] the so-called low-hanging fruit[s].’

He said ‘upon field validation, they really are ghosts-meaning, we did not see any projects.’

Hosaka said the ICI would still compile reports on other questionable infrastructure projects that might be referred to the commission, adding that ‘once the processing of flood control projects is fixed, then we will look into that.’

‘Reinforce’ ICI

Asked about the ICI’s capability to go after the so-called big fish, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the ICI needed ‘to be reinforced even to the point of empowering them with more legal authority by way of legislation.’

He said the commission, with its ‘lack of personnel and logical resources . will be overwhelmed by the magnitude and complexity of the problem it is facing, if [it is] not already overwhelmed.’

Lacson cited the uncertainty felt by residents of Provident Village in Marikina City over seeming defects in the Marikina dike, whose construction was handled by Discaya-owned companies.

‘At the rate the number of substandard, uncompleted, and even ghost infrastructure projects being attributed to the Discaya-owned firms keeps piling up, the ICI may not be able to cope with the complexity and enormity of the problem at hand,’ Lacson said.

‘Hence, the national government, including Congress, must reinforce the commission with adequate personnel and logistical resources, even additional legal power and authority by way of legislation, so they can accomplish their assigned tasks,’ he said. – With a report from Tina G. Santos

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) imposed a perpetual revocation of the driver’s license of the driver who was seen in a viral video hitting the motorcycle driven by a student in Teresa, Rizal.

This came after the driver failed to adhere to the LTO’s show cause order on Monday. Only the student and his parents appeared at the hearing.

‘The hard part is, the driver of the car that hit the student shouldn’t have done that,’ LTO chief Markus Lacanilao was quoted as saying in Filipino in a statement of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday.

‘He can report it or have it arrested, but he can’t just hit someone because he wants to, he’s hot-headed,’ he added.

Earlier, Acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez ordered the revocation of the license of the driver after he was spotted in a video intentionally crashing into the student’s motorcycle because ‘it allegedly ran over his vehicle.’

Meanwhile, the father of the student got his license suspended for a month for violating the law regarding the proper operation of a motorcycle, since he reportedly allowed his 15-year-old son to drive a motorcycle even though he did not have a license.

The LTO added that the student drove the motorcycle without a side mirror and was not even wearing a helmet.

Aside from this, the student was disqualified from applying for a driver’s license for one year. /jpv