Two pedicab drivers hurt in MMDA clearing drive

A clearing operation against obstructions and eyesores along the stretch of President Quirino Avenue in Paco, Manila turned bloody when an alleged personnel of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) fired at a group of bystanders yesterday morning.

The indiscriminate shooting resulted in the serious wounding of two pedicab drivers identified as Danilo Peralta, 39, of President Quirino Avenue, and Marcio Quinones, 32, of Anak Bayan street, Paco, according to police.

Peralta was hit in the head while Quinones sustained a gunshot wound in the chest.

Both had been declared in serious condition at the Ospital ng Maynila.

Police said MMDA personnel were clearing the stretch of President Quirino Avenue against illegal structures and traffic obstructions when the operation met stiff opposition from pedicab drivers and stall owners.

During the operation, a group of MMDA operatives blocked and accosted pedicab driver Benjamin Jacinto who was then ferrying a passenger, triggering protests from bystanders.

At this juncture, some bystanders reportedly threw rocks at MMDA personnel, prompting a polo-barong clad man to fire at the group, hitting the two victims.

Witnesses said the gunman, together with the MMDA personnel, left the place immediately after the shooting.

Police recovered two deformed empty shells from a caliber .45 revolver.

Investigators are now conducting follow-up probe on MMDA personnel to determine the identity of the gunman.

An irate Manila Mayor Lito Atienza ordered a probe into the shooting while barring MMDA personnel from conducting future sidewalk clearing operations in the city.

"I want all MMDA sidewalk clearing operations stopped. I do not want them in Manila at this point while a probe is being conducted. No amount of reasoning will justify the shooting of poor vendors or pedicab drivers in Manila," he said.

The MMDA Traffic Management Group said the man who fired the shots was not an MMDA operative. The agency said, MMDA personnel are not issued or allowed to carry firearms. – Nestor Etolle, Evelyn Macairan, Michael Punongbayan