Makati City Hall is now urging motorists make arrests themselves by invoking their power to do so as citizens.
Makati’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) said drivers who are issued Traffic Violation Receipts (TVRs) by MMDA traffic enforcers and aides can report those who accosted them.
DPS chief Herminigildo San Miguel said the city government will then be the one to file appropriate charges in court.
He said motorists, before surrendering their licenses, should demand from the MMDA enforcer a copy of a deputation order from the Mayor’s Office.
"Without the order, an MMDA enforcer can be arrested by the Makati police, the DPS or by the motorist himself by invoking citizen’s arrest," San Miguel said in a statement issued yesterday.
He stressed that the Makati Traffic Code is the law governing traffic in Makati. "Unless MMDA enforcers are deputized, they have no authority to apprehend motorists and issue TVRs," he said.
San Miguel explained that by issuing traffic tickets without being deputized by the city, MMDA personnel can be charged with usurpation of authority.
He urged motorists to immediately call the DPS headquarters at tel. no. 8193270 or report the incident to the nearest DPS or Makati police station.
"They can also report the matter to any DPS officer or policeman in the area," he said.
Last Sunday, Makati policemen arrested and filed charges of falsification of public documents and usurpation of authority against an MMDA enforcer, who was arrested after being caught in the act of apprehending an erring motorist in the locality.
The traffic enforcer was released a few hours later after the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office found insufficient ground to detain him.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay ordered the arrest of MMDA traffic personnel apprehending motorists in the country’s financial capital, believing that the agency has been stripped of its powers to enforce laws without deputation from local government units.
He said the action was based on a recent ruling of the Supreme Court, which said that the MMDA has no police powers and can only enforce ordinances approved by the city councils and other legitimate sources.