PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil yesterday justified the use of the EDSA busway by a convoy of PNP vehicles, with him supposedly among the passengers.
Marbil, who declined to confirm nor deny that he was among the passengers of the convoy caught using the busway on Tuesday night, said the occupants of the vehicles were on their way to Camp Crame to attend an emergency meeting with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
“It’s an emergency, that’s why the vehicles were using blinkers, they were in a hurry… There is a memo that PNP can use the busway during an emergency, that’s a given fact,” he said.
Remulla yesterday said he asked Marbil to meet him at Camp Crame about a police operation but made it clear he did not give instructions to violate traffic laws.
NO INSTRUCTIONS
“I asked him to appear, so kung anuman ang methodology niya para papunta roon let me make it clear, I did not give instructions to violate any traffic laws to get there. But he was aware of the emergency,” Remulla told reporters.
He said he only learned of the supposed incident from the media.
‘’I have to confirm it with him and I will ask for an explanation,’’ Remulla added, referring to Marbil.
Members of the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), under the Department of Transportation, flagged down the convoy at the northbound lane in Ortigas at around 6:30 a.m.
The convoy included a PNP Highway Patrol Group motorcycle, a Fortuner sports vehicle, and an Innova van.
A police officer from the Highway Patrol Group went to talk to SAICT personnel. In a video that spread on social media, the policeman said they were on their way to the Camp Crame.
When asked who was on board the convoy, the policeman initially replied “PNP.” When pressed, the policeman replied “chief,” fueling talks the passengers included Marbil.
The vehicles left the scene but later returned to surrender their driver’s licenses to SAICT personnel. The drivers were given traffic violation tickets.
Marbil said prior coordination with the SAICT was not possible at that time because the convoy was in a hurry.
“I guess it’s more of coordination (mechanism) that we have to come up with,” Marbil later said.
He also said the plate numbers of the vehicles should not have been disclosed.
“You just can’t release plate numbers, there’s a privacy involved. You have to protect the identity of people, spare them from embarrassment,” he added.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said “senior officers” were on board the vehicles. She declined to name the officers for security reasons.
Fajardo said the officials used the busway because their presence was urgently needed at Camp Crame.
“The convoy was on the way to Camp Crame because there is a closed-door meeting that requires their urgent presence,” said Fajardo.
She said the PNP understands the negative comments on social media.
“It so happened that this particular incident necessitated the use of the carousel lane and we can explain this to the DOTr…Due to the exigency of the (situation), they need to use it to go there, to reach Camp Crame as soon as possible,” said Fajardo.
