Maria Isabel Lopez may have thought it was funny when she illegally used a lane designated for Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) delegates on Saturday, then bragged about it on Facebook.
READ: Former beauty queen apologizes for illegally driving in ASEAN lane and bragging about it on Facebook
But local traffic and transportation officials are making it clear that what she did is no laughing matter.
“Assuming there’s a head of state coming and the forces were on alert, and snipers in position, she could have been mistaken for a bomber,” Emmanuel Miro, the Metro Manila Development Agency (MMDA) official in charge of ASEAN traffic plans told GMA News yesterday.
The MMDA is the agency in charge of traffic management and enforcement.
Miro said that because of Lopez’s stunt and social media bragging, the MMDA had alerted police officials to be on alert for potential copycats.
Lopez told Inquirer.net on Sunday that the reason she was rushing is she had to use the bathroom, and she apologized because “the ends don’t justify the means.”
Her daughter Mara Isabella Lopez, also a television personality, posted on Facebook on Sunday that her mom “will do her own thing no matter what.” But she supported her mom and said “she’s my mom and I love her. I got your back mama.”
https://www.facebook.com/maralopezyokohama/posts/10155906854189158?pnref=story
According to local newspaper SunStar, Lopez faces cancellation of her driver’s license for the violation.
“LTO Chief Edgar Galvante says that proper investigation procedures will be observed and that LTO shall ensure that their decision will be anchored on the truth, and adherence to the rule of law,” the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement yesterday.
Lopez won the title for Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) in 1982 and competed for Miss Universe in Lima, Peru that year. She starred in various TV shows and films from the 1980s and most recently appeared in the GMA TV Drama Haplos.
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