HEAVY TRAFFIC can never justify the unlawful use of sirens or “wang-wang” and escorts along the country’s busiest thoroughfares, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said on Thursday.
This, after a friend of Ejercito sent him a video of a convoy of luxury vehicles that was unlawfully using sirens and escorts on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
“Tell [me] if this is not abuse. BMW GS1250 as escort, Rolls Royce Culinan, and a Mercedes G63 for a backup! Itigil na ito!” he said in a tweet that includes the video.
Ejercito, a known road safety advocate, stressed that only the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Chief of the Philippine National Police should be entitled to sirens and escorts.
“Marami akong nakikita na mga negosyante, mga private citizens, na may mga escort. Doon ako nagngingitngit. Lahat naman tayo pantay-pantay (I can see many businessmen, private citizens, that has escorts. That is where I am angry about. All of us are actually equal). What gives them the privilege?” he said in a recent interview.
“Lahat naman tayo nagmamadali. Ako rin ay nagmamadali minsan. Pero time management lang ‘yan (All of us are in a hurry. Me too, I'm in a hurry sometimes. But it's just time management). You have to live with it. Kinakailangan lang na tantiyahin mo ang oras mo. Sa akin, hindi acceptable ‘yan (You just need to adjust your time. To me, that is unacceptable),” Ejercito added.
He said the political will is needed to empower traffic enforcers to pursue individuals and officials who commit these kinds of abuses.
Ejercito commended, however, the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for intensifying the crackdown against vehicles illegally using sirens and blinkers.
PNP officer-in-charge (OIC), Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., has ordered HPG the crackdown amid reports that some motorists continue to use such devices which violates Presidential Decree (PD) 96 issued by former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1973.
PD 96 prohibits “the owner or possessor of any motor vehicle to use or attach to his vehicle any siren, bell, horn, whistle, or other similar gadgets that produce exceptionally loud or startling sound, including dome lights, blinkers, and other similar signaling or flashing devices.” (Wilnard Bacelonia)
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