MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has issued a show cause order (SCO) against a motorist in a viral drunk driving video at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City.
In a statement on Thursday evening, LTO said the registered owner and driver of the vehicle, who is the same person, was summoned to appear at their Central Office on October 15.
The driver was reported to be a resident of Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The incident, which occurred last September 23 along 7th Avenue in BGC, was captured on video and posted on social media sites.
In the video, the driver was seen recklessly heading down a one-way street and swerving dangerously. The video has already been taken down.
“Isa itong iresponsableng gawain na naglalagay sa alanganin ng buhay ng mga road users. Mabuti na lamang at hindi ito nagdulot sa isang aksidente,” LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza said, as quoted in the statement.
(This is an irresponsible act that endangers the lives of road users. Fortunately, it did not result in an accident.)
“Hindi natin palalampasin ang mga ganitong asal sa kalsada. Kaya tayo ay nag-issue ng Show Cause Order laban sa may-ari ng sasakyan at driver nito,” he added.
(We will not tolerate such behavior on the road. That is why we issued a Show Cause Order against the vehicle owner and its driver.)
READ: LTO wants more breathalyzers
LTO said that the maximum penalty for the offense is revocation of the driver’s license.
The motorist was also ordered to provide a written explanation as to why he should not be held liable for cases of reckless driving, driving while under the influence of liquor or narcotic drugs, and being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle.
“Failure to appear and submit the written comment/explanation as required shall be construed by this Office as a waiver of your right to be heard, and the case shall be decided based on the evidence at hand. In the interim, your driver’s license and the subject motor vehicle are placed on alarm pending this investigation,” the SCO read. — Emmanuel John Abris, INQUIRER.net intern