A motorist apologized yesterday to the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) after a video of him telling a Land Transportation Office (LTO) officer that he is an MMDA enforcer went viral earlier this week.
GMA News’ Balitambayan identified the motorist as Beneydict Chan. He was issued a ticket by the LTO officer for using his cellphone in his car and for not wearing a seatbelt.
The discussion between Chan and the LTO officer escalated after the officer discovered that Chan’s car had a defective tail light and that he failed to bring his new driver’s license with him.
Automotive journalist James Deakin posted the now-viral video on Monday, which shows the heated discussion between the LTO enforcer and Chan.
At some point, the officer asks Chan to step on the brake so that he can see if the tail lights are functioning, but Chan refuses to do so. “I don’t want to,” he says in Filipino.
The video now has over 1.5million views.
The enforcer gave a rundown of Chan’s violations, most of which he admitted to, except for one. He was cited for not carrying his license because he accidentally gave the enforcer the receipt for his old one.
This confusion led to an even bigger argument.
“I won’t agree to that failure to carry [my license] when you’re the one holding my license,” an irked Chan said in Filipino.
“I am holding it, but it is expired, which is what I’m confiscating, sir,” the enforcer said. “We’re [LTO] authorized to do that.”
“Don’t use the name of LTO, you son of a b*tch, I’m [part of] MMDA,” Chan snapped.
The LTO enforcer defended himself, saying: “I’m not using the name of LTO, I’m in uniform, sir.”
Motorists waiting to receive their license are given a receipt by the LTO. Chan later gave the receipt of his new registered license but it was too late.
According to LTO spokesperson Francis Almora who was interviewed by GMA news program 24 Oras, once a traffic enforcer has jotted down a violation on the ticket, it cannot be erased because it is an “accountable form.”
It turns out that Chan’s ID has been available for pickup at the LTO’s office in La Loma, Quezon City, so he should have been carrying it in the first place.
Yesterday, Chan apologized to the MMDA when he was interviewed by GMA News and explained that he just lost his temper.
“I want to apologize to the MMDA because of my temper, I said that I was [a part of] MMDA, which is not my intention,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Meanwhile, MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago denied that Chan is an employee of the MMDA.
She said: “This [guy] is not an MMDA employee. If he said that he was from the MMDA, let the legal process take its due course in terms of usurpation of authority.”
