The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) launched a restructured operations group that aims to further crack down unauthorized vehicles driving through the EDSA Bus Lane.
The agency shared that the restructured group that’s in charge of apprehending EDSA Bus Lane violators is named Special Operations Group (SOG). It will be under the direct supervision of Assistant General Manager for Operations Asec. David Angelo Vargas and its deputy officer-in-charge Gabriel Go.
The MMDA said that the SOG is directed to conduct a more intensified campaign against erring motorists who drive through the EDSA Bus Lane. The MMDA has been repeatedly reminding that the EDSA Bus Lane is exclusively for the buses authorized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Other vehicles allowed to use the EDSA Bus Lane are on-duty emergency vehicles like fire trucks, ambulances, and Philippine National Police (PNP) vehicles. Service vehicles that are directly involved in the maintenance, construction, and security within the EDSA Bus Lane are permitted to use the exclusive lane as well.
Top government officials are also allowed to use the EDSA Bus Lane: the President, Vice President, Senate President, speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice. The vehicle convoy of the said government officials is likewise allowed in the bus lane. Of note, the list does not include the vehicles (even those equipped with protocol plates) of cabinet officials, senators, and congressmen.
Asec. David Angelo Vargas, who serves as the direct supervisor of the MMDA’s SOG, said that its personnel will have body-worn cameras to serve “as a protection for the enforcers and the apprehended motorists."
"Our body-worn cameras are connected to our Communications and Command Center and its feed cannot be edited and the device cannot be turned off. This also eliminates hearsay and he-said-she-said arguments," Vargas added.
The MMDA said that there were 1,262 apprehended motorists during the first week of the implementation of higher fines against EDSA Bus Lane violators.
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