Dismissed MMDA traffic aide held for extort try

A recently dismissed traffic aide of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority ended up behind bars Friday night after he allegedly tried to extort money from a truck driver in Quezon City.

Rojim Dial, 31, faces charges of usurpation of authority following his arrest by members of the Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Sector 1.

Dial, a Caloocan City resident, produced an expired MMDA identification card and a booklet of MMDA traffic violation receipts when apprehended, police said.

Sector I chief SPO4 Raymundo Layug said Dial was dismissed as a traffic enforcer in April but was still manning the streets in his MMDA uniform when arrested around 11 p.m. Friday at the corner of A. Bonifacio and 7th avenues in Barangay Pag-Ibig sa Nayon.

Moments before the arrest, two Quezon City policemen spotted him flagging down a truck carrying electronic gadgets and driven by Arnold Bucao.

The officers approached when they noticed that Dial and Bucao were arguing, and learned from the truck driver that Dial was asking him to cough up P1,000 for supposedly driving a “colorum” or unregistered vehicle.  Julie M. Aurelio