MANILA, Philippines — The driver in the viral video where he drove his car while seated in the passenger seat is being summoned by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Screenshot of the video posted on Facebook.
Transportation Assistant Secretary for Communications Goddes Hope Libiran identified on Wednesday the driver as Miko Lopez.
According to Libiran, the LTO is set to charge Lopez for reckless driving, illegal modification (removing the steering wheel), not wearing seatbelt, and improper person to operate a motor vehicle.
Screenshot of the video posted on Facebook.
A hearing for his case was set to be conducted at 3 p.m. today (Wednesday) at the LTO Main Office in Quezon City, Libiran told reporters thru Viber.
If the driver failed to appear, Libiran said the LTO will resolve the case based on the video provided.
The statement of Libiran stemmed after Lopez himself posted a video in his personal Facebook account on May 25, where it could be seen that he was driving his car while being seated at the passenger seat.
Lopez was accompanied by another person seated at the back portion of the car. Lopez’ friend was the one taking a video of the incident.
The video was shared only to his friends but it was reposted by a certain Axel Farinas in a Facebook group last Tuesday. The video then reached the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Following this, both the LTO and DOTr warned the public that it does not tolerate any kind of reckless driving.
LTO Executive Director Romeo Vera Cruz tagged the video as a “clear proof that he [Lopez] is an improper person to operate a vehicle, aside from committing traffic violations.”
Vera Cruz also recommended the revocation of Lopez license and his disqualification to apply for a new one due to the incident.
DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon meanwhile urged the public not to mock the policies of the government.
“Nakaligtas ka man noong oras na ginawa mo ‘yan, we will make sure you will get penalized. Let this be a stern warning to everyone else. We enjoin the citizenry to report this kind of violations, and we will act on it swiftly,” De Leon said in a statement. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)