[FWD] MMDA apprehensions

SUBJECT: TOOLS AGAINST MMDA OFFICERS

I just reached my limit last weekend, and decided to
take action against the abusive MMDA enforcers. I
basically called up the MMDA head office and
inquired from the Personnel Officer, Antonio
Pagulayan, to clarify their policies. Here is what
I got.

If any of these abuses seem familiar to you, Mr.
Pagulayan has asked that you call either the MMDA
hotline (136) or call the METRO BASE at 0920 9389861
or 0920 9389875 and ask for an Inspectorate. They
will send inspectors to the place where these MMDA
officers are extorting, even while you are arguing
out of your apprehension.

1. MMDA officers are not allowed to group together
in order to apprehend. They are not even allowed
to stand together in groups of 2 or more. The only
time they are allowed to work together is for
special operations (probably when they apprehend
groups of buses for smoke belching)

2. Swerving IS NOT a traffic violation. Moving one
lane to the left or right is not swerving, no
matter where on the road you do it. And it is even
less of a violation when you do it with a signal.
Swerving is defined as shifting 2 or more lanes
very quickly. So you can argue your way out of
this, and call the Metro Base for help.

3. Sadly, using the yellow lane is a traffic
violation and will get you a ticket. However, buses
are really not allowed to go out of the yellow lane,
so if you see selective apprehension of private
cars only, you may complain.

4. MMDA has confirmed that your license MAY NOT BE
CONFISCATED at a traffic apprehension. The only
time they can doso is if you are part of an
accident, or it is your third violation and you have
not settled your fines yet. They are only allowed
to give you a ticket, which you can contest. He
recommends actually receiving the ticket in some
instances, so that you can report the officer who
did it.

Also, you are free to ask any of these officers for
their "mission order", which is written by their
supervisor. If they apprehend you for a violation
that is not in their mission order for the day, you
can report them and they will receive disciplinary
action.