US embassy vehicle flagged for using EDSA bus lane

MANILA, Philippines — A diplomatic vehicle belonging to the United States embassy was pulled over for using the exclusive EDSA Bus Carousel during rush hour yesterday.

In a statement, the Department of Transportation said enforcers of its Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT) pulled over the black sport utility vehicle (SUV), allegedly driven by Justen Peter Antonio Silva, 22, for using the busway near the Ortigas Avenue station.

When asked for a driver’s license, Silva showed only his passport, which was photographed by the apprehending officer using a cell phone.

SAICT said the vehicle’s passenger “challenged the photo-taking of the passport, claiming it was illegal and demanded the image be deleted.”

The passenger was allegedly concerned that the image might end up in the hands of a Chinese spy.

“He also asked that the apprehending officer speak to a high-ranking police officer to resolve the issue before it escalated to embassy level,” SAICT added.

The embassy said, in a short statement, that it was “aware of reports of an incident on EDSA regarding a member of the embassy community.”

“The US embassy instructs all staff to obey Philippine laws, including traffic regulations,” the statement declared.

An almost six-minute video uploaded by SAICT on its Facebook page showed the American passenger scolding SAICT enforcers, accusing them of “threatening to steal US diplomatic material,” referring to the driver’s passport.

Diplomats are not authorized to use the EDSA bus lane, which is reserved for city buses, emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks, and convoys of the President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker and Chief Justice.

Violators could be fined P5,000 to P30,000 and risk the cancellation of driver’s license.

According to SAICT, the apprehension was legitimate and that “basic information was needed in issuing the TOP,” referring to a temporary operator’s permit. — Michael Punongbayan