The government official was in a Lexus LX570 luxury sport utility vehicle. Definitely, it was not a government vehicle, but it had its blinkers on.
It sported a ’10’ protocol plate – a number assigned to justices of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals and the Sandiganbayan as well as the solicitor general, according to guidelines set by the Land Transportation Office. But the passenger of the Lexus does not fall under any of these categories.
He’s nevertheless a ‘VIP’ deserving of road courtesy. This was according to his barong-clad security escort, who reportedly slapped the driver of an Isuzu multicab who dared get in the way of the luxury SUV last Wednesday morning in Quezon City.
The official with a driver and a bodyguard is Undersecretary Ricky Alfonso of the Department of Transportation and Communications, which has jurisdiction over the LTO, so he presumably knows the rules on the use of protocol plates. The vehicle is reportedly registered to a holding company in Dasmariñas, Makati.
Netizens were angered by a viral video showing Alfonso’s driver and bodyguard berating the multicab driver, who was demanding to know why he had been slapped. That’s a case of physical injury. But traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority who responded to the incident merely advised him to get a medical certificate and file a formal complaint. Why did none of them try to question the passenger in a Lexus, or even get the identities of the driver and bodyguard? Are MMDA personnel cowed by the ‘VIP’ tag?
Alfonso’s bodyguard chastised the multicab driver for weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring the blinker in the Lexus and endangering its ‘VIP’ passenger. ‘VIP yung dala namin, naka-blinker na kami,’ the bodyguard told the driver. ‘Malilintikan ka talaga.’
President Marcos issued Administrative Order No. 18 in April last year, prohibiting government officials from using sirens, blinkers and similar signaling devices. Alfonso was either clueless about this or ignored it. And why does an undersecretary deserve a security escort? Is that bodyguard on the public payroll? Surely a person who tools around in a Lexus can afford his own security escort.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said he had talked with Alfonso, who claimed to have fired his driver and apologized to the multicab driver. But this case is not supposed to be settled with a mere apology. And that VIP entitlement is out of place in this period of great public outrage over the atrocious misbehavior of government officials.
There are multiple violations in this incident, which should be dealt with accordingly. There must be no VIPs before the law.