The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started considering arming its traffic enforcers to protect them from abusive motorists after one of its men was shot by a 30-year-old driver whom he accosted for a traffic violation in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday afternoon.
Edward John Gonzales was arrested in his house in Makati City hours after the shooting by members of the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group who turned him over to the Mandaluyong police.
He is now facing frustrated murder and direct assault charges at the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office.
His victim, MMDA traffic enforcer Larry Fiala, was operated on Thursday after he sustained at least five gunshot wounds.
He is still in guarded condition at Dr. Victor Potenciano Medical Center.
Tina Velasco, MMDA spokesperson and assistant general manager for planning, said that Chair Francis Tolentino had asked for a review of his predecessor’s proposal to arm traffic enforcers.
“He wants to revisit that proposal. But if ever it pushes through, only a few … traffic enforcers will be trained and armed as part of our public safety mandate,” Velasco said.
“We don’t want the public to say that we’re overreacting. But of course, we must also protect our enforcers and take into consideration their welfare and the risks they face as they perform their duties,” she added.
At one time, former MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando seriously considered arming the agency’s traffic enforcers with jungle bolos to protect them from angry and abusive motorists.
This was after several drivers threatened some traffic enforcers with lead pipes and even guns.
His proposal, however, did not push through as it was met with criticisms.
Velasco added that the MMDA was also eyeing the revival of the buddy system among traffic enforcers “so [that they would] always be with a partner to watch their back.”
“These are just among the many ways we’re now studying to protect our traffic enforcers,” she said although she noted that there was also a suggestion to teach them self-defense techniques.
Tolentino, meanwhile, has ordered MMDA lawyers to pursue criminal charges against Gonzales.
He also assured Fiala’s family that the MMDA would attend to his medical care and related needs.
“Mr. Fiala was performing his duty unarmed. All he had were his traffic citation tickets and his determination to enforce our traffic laws. It is appalling that a heartless individual would just shoot him for no clear reason,” Tolentino said as he lamented the lack of respect for traffic laws.
He called on motorists to give MMDA traffic enforcers the respect they deserve.
“Traffic laws were enacted to put order in the streets. And somebody has to enforce the law and we motorists have to comply. Let us treat each other with respect. Definitely we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Tolentino said.
Investigation showed that Fiala flagged down the driver of a black Nissan Frontier pick-up (WMD 505) in Edsa, Cubao, for violating the number coding scheme.
However, the driver, who later turned out to be Gonzales, got irked, hit him in the face and then sped away.
Undeterred, Fiala chased Gonzales on his motorcycle until he caught up with him near Connecticut Street where they started arguing.
According to a witness, at the height of the argument, Gonzales went back inside his vehicle and emerged with a gun.
He then shot the victim repeatedly at close range before he casually walked back to his vehicle and drove away.
A taxi driver brought the wounded traffic enforcer to a nearby hospital where he was operated on for his injuries.
Senior Superintendent Armando Bolalin, Mandaluyong police chief, said in an interview that Gonzales had refused to undergo a paraffin test to determine whether or not there was gunpowder residue on him.
But he added that this did not pose a problem since a witness had positively identified him as the gunman.
Recovered from Gonzales were several knives and a weapons magazine. With Kristine Felisse Mangunay