Photo of the man who pretended to be a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority traffic enforcer to extort money from a motorist along Arnaiz corner Osmeña Highway in Makati City. (Screengrab from the Visor Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Don Artes pledged a reward on Tuesday for the first person to identify the individual who claimed to be an MMDA enforcer to extort money from a motorist in Makati City.
According to a Facebook post by Visor on June 14, an anonymous motorist reported being stopped by the fake MMDA officer while driving along Arnaiz corner Osmeña Highway.
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The bogus enforcer said that the motorist committed a violation by beating the red light and asked for a P2,000 fine. However, it could be negotiated if they followed the enforcer.
Upon searching for dashcam footage to refute the claim, the motorist noticed the enforcer’s motorcycle did not have a plate number, and the person was not even wearing an MMDA enforcer uniform, prompting them to video record the situation.
The “enforcer” failed to show an identification card from the agency when they asked for one, the motorist said.
Moreover, the man in question also refused to be video recorded.
The “enforcer” eventually left them with only a verbal warning, given off camera.
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In a press conference, Artes confirmed that the person was not an MMDA enforcer.
“Upon verification po, hindi po namin ito empleyado at nagpapanggap po na empleyado ng MMDA para po mag-extort ng pera sa ating mga motorista,” he said.
(Upon verification, we found out that he is not our employee and is pretending to be an employee of MMDA to extort money from motorists.)
He also promised a reward to the first person who would be able to identify the fake enforcer.
“Kung sino po ang makaka-identify ng taong ito ay bibigyan ko po personally ng reward na P10,000 para po ma-file-an namin ng kaukulang demanda, criminal na demanda,” said Artes.
(Whoever can identify this person will be personally rewarded with P10,000 so that we can file the appropriate criminal charges against them.)