THE number “7” plate used by a white sports utility vehicle (SUV) that was seen in a viral video illegally using the EDSA busway lane and almost running down a female traffic enforcer on Sunday night was fake, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday said citing a report from the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
“Napatunayan ng LTO na peke ‘yung plaka na ginamit ng SUV sa video (The LTO confirmed that the SUV used a fake protocol license plate),” Escudero said, but added: “Hindi dapat magtapos dito ang isyu na ito. Kailangan matukoy ng LTO kung sino ang may-ari ng sasakyan at siguraduhin na mananagot ito sa paglabag ng batas (This should not end here. The LTO must identify its owner and make sure that he or she be held accountable for violating the law).”
The number 7 protocol plates are issued exclusively to vehicles used by incumbent senators. Each senator is entitled to two plates, which can be used in two cars. The owner and model of the vehicles using the special plates are registered with the LTO.
A video which went viral on social media sites showed a white SUV illegally using the northbound lane of the EDSA Guadalupe busway station at around 6:58 p.m. Sunday.
Based on the report of the Department of Transportation’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), the driver of the SUV tried to run over a female traffic enforcer while being asked to stop the vehicle before managing to drive backwards towards the entry point of the busway, and then escaping.
“Adding to the disrespectful behavior, a passenger in the back seat of the SUV raised a middle finger at the officers as they fled,” the SAICT report said.
Escudero said the protocol plate carries with it no special privileges, including entering and traversing lanes exclusively for public utility buses and marked vehicle responding to emergency situations.
“We thank the LTO for their swift action on this incident. However, this particular incident should not go unpunished. Not only was it a violation of multiple laws and traffic rules, it also affects the sanctity of the Senate as an institution,” he said as he reminded his colleagues in Congress that they are representatives of the people and that their actions, no matter how big or small, will always reflect on the institution that they serve.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo said it would be easy for the LTO to identify the owner of the Cadillac Escalade, pointing out that there are only 24 Filipinos who own such a luxury car.
“24 lang ang nagmamay-ari ng Cadillac Escalade sa buong bansa kaya madaling malaman kung sino ang may-ari nung gumamit ng EDSA busway,” Tulfo said.
Earlier on Monday, Escudero called on the LTO to identify the owner of the white vehicle and to check the legitimacy of the protocol plate seen attached to the white Cadillac Escalade, noting that the number 7 plates issued to senators bear no other markings, including years or dates similar to the one seen on the SUV.
He likewise appealed to the owner of the SUV to “instruct” his or her driver to “come forward” and “face the consequences” of his actions.
In a Viber message to the media, Escudero said the driver of the SUV clearly “violated the law” which he said was “unacceptable.”
“If indeed the owner is a member of the Senate, I expect him/her to come forward and instruct the person/s driving the vehicle to responsibly face the consequences of their actions as soon as they know and find out about the incident themselves and to surrender and present themselves to the authorities accordingly,” he said.
“The driver violated the law. The actions of the driver/passenger are unacceptable,” he added.
He lauded the traffic personnel involved “for keeping their composure and remaining courteous notwithstanding the circumstances that they encountered.”
MUM
In a chance interview at the Senate, Escudero also said no senator has owned up to the incident. He also said he has not talked with his colleagues regarding the matter as he first wanted to make sure that the protocol license plate is authentic.
“Inaalam nga muna kung totoo nga ba ung protocol plate na yun o hindi at matapos kaming bigyan ng impormasyon ng LTO, yun siguro ang dapat na panahon para malaman kung sino talaga yun (I want first to find out if the license plate is authentic. Once the LTO provides us with the information, then that’s the time that we will know who owns it),” Escudero said.
Escudero said that aside from buses and emergency vehicles, the other vehicles allowed to use the busway are those with protocol plate 1 (president), 2 (vice president, 3 (Senate president), 4 (House speaker), and 5 (Supreme Court chief justice).
Escudero said protocol license plates are issued only upon the request of a senator, and these should only be attached to a specific vehicle. He said that to his knowledge, two protocol plates with the number 7 can be issued per senator.
“Ang nakalagay dun sa memorandum circular dapat ito ay i-issue sa specific na kotse. Hindi sinabi kung sino nakasakay palagi. Wala namang ganung probisyon (The memorandum circular states that the protocol plates must be issued to a specific vehicle. It did not state that a specific person should use that vehicle, there is no such provision),” he said.
He also said the Senate does not keep a record of those who have been issued the protocol plates, saying that “the LTO has the records, not the Senate because it is not automatically issued [to a senator]. These are requested. So, the LTO knows who requested for it.”
He said senators using protocol plates are liable for their vehicle’s or driver’s violations.
“Actually, maliit lang na infraction lamang naman. Kailangan lamang na mai-presenta yung sarili nila, magbayad ng fine at kung may paglabag doon sa paggamit ng protocol plate ay i-surrender ang protocol plate (That is actually a minor infraction. All they have to do is present themselves, pay the corresponding fines, and surrender the protocol plates is it was illegally used),” he said.
There were reports yesterday indicating that the vehicle allegedly belonged to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, citing a March 10, 2023 news article showing his father, William Gatchalian, is using a Cadillac SUV with a 7 protocol plate.
Gatchalian, in a Viber message to the Senate media, denied the allegation, saying that he only uses a Toyota Alphard and a Toyota Sequoia.
Last April, Escudero made a public apology after an SUV with protocol license plates 7 assigned to him also illegally used the EDSA busway.
“The use of the protocol plate was unauthorized as the vehicle was being driven by the driver of a family member… The number 7 protocol plate was also abused because vehicles with these plates are not allowed to use bus lanes,” Escudero said then.
He said he directed the driver to appear before the LTO and face the charges against him. He added that he surrendered to the LTO the protocol plate involved in the incident which he said he does not personally use anyway.
The EDSA busway is reserved for accredited PUBs and emergency vehicles, and for the convoys of the president, vice president, Senate president, House speaker, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.