Probe APEC van that disobeyed red light - Bañas

Even the President follows traffic rules

CEBU, Philippines - The Police Regional Office-7 wants to investigate who was the driver of a vehicle intended for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation delegates that reportedly ran through a red light even when there were no dignitaries onboard.

Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Bañas, PRO-7 director, yesterday said they were already finding out the identity of the driver of the black Toyota Grandia van, which was reportedly seen beating the red light at the corner of Serging Osmeña Boulevard and Pope John Paul II Avenue last Sunday.

Bañas said he read about what the driver did from the Editorial Section of The FREEMAN’s issue yesterday.

Bañas said he immediately called the attention of the Regional Tactical Operation Center for the APEC meetings and warned its commanders, especially those involved in the convoys and vehicles, of the offense.

“I told them that we are not exempted from following rules and regulations,” he said.

He said that normally, when there are APEC delegates onboard the vans, which are rented by the government, there will always be official escorts.  In last Sunday’s incident, however, the driver was the only one in the van.

“That is not a license for you not to follow rules and regulations,” Bañas said on the van being an APEC service vehicle.

He said that even during the visit of President Benigno Aquino III in Cebu last Monday, they obeyed the traffic signs while travelling around the city.

“Kahit presidente nga eh. Pag stop ang light, stop din kami lahat. So sino sila para gumawa nun?” he said.

Bañas said they will try to identify first if the driver was a civilian or a police officer before starting an investigation.

As to the overall security of the event, he said, it is generally peaceful so far with no serious emergencies that happened.

 “Hopefully, tuloy-tuloy na ito. Together with the help of the community, we can sustain this,” the police official said. — (FREEMAN)