32 barkers of FX terminals arrested in QC

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said 32 barkers for illegal FX terminals in Cubao, Quezon City were arrested on Saturday night.

MMDA Traffic Operations Center Executive Director Angelito Vergel de Dios said he requested the Quezon City Traffic Enforcement Group led by Superintendent Philmore Balmaceda to arrest the barkers after he saw several FX cabs lined up in front of the Act Theater along EDSA corner Aurora Boulevard, apparently turning the area into an illegal terminal and causing heavy traffic.

He added that he received information that the illegal terminal has been getting "protection from a uniformed personnel."

"I asked Superintendent Balmaceda to make the barkers spill the beans on their alleged protector, be that person a member of the PNP or even the MMDA, so that we can stop this," he said.

The barkers could face charges of vagrancy or obstruction of traffic flow, he added.

Vergel de Dios said he chanced upon the illegal terminal in Cubao while conducting an ocular inspection of traffic in Metro Manila.

But he clarified that the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila last Saturday was because of the anti-World Trade Organization (WTO) rally and the concert of the popular Taiwanese pop group, F4, in Pasig City. – Nikko Dizon