MMDA suspends 2 tow firms over extortion raps vs crew

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has suspended the operations of two accredited towing companies following the arrest of their crew members for alleged extortion.

The MMDA said seven employees from Bernadine Transport 200 and three from NJP Trucking 293 were arrested by the police in Barangay Pio del Pilar, Makati City, late Tuesday night.

They allegedly demanded an exorbitant towing fee—first asking for P5,000 and later P9,500—from two drivers whose dump truck had a mechanical problem on Paseo de Magallanes.

The drivers were able to alert the National Capital Region Police Office, leading to an entrapment.

The MMDA maintained that a 2010 resolution set the towing fee at P1,500 to P4,500 for the first 4 km, depending on the type of vehicle, and an additional P200 for every kilometer from the spot where the vehicle is towed to the impounding area. —Dexter Cabalza