Quezon City burglars hit MMDA booth

The system can catch erring bus drivers.

Too bad it can’t pin down thieves in its own backyard.

More than P10,000 worth of equipment of  the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) biometric bus dispatch system was stolen early Thursday morning at the bus dispatch terminal along Quirino Highway in Barangay Pasong Putik,  Quezon City.

MMDA central sector commander Dennis Tadsay told the police that the terminal’s fingerprint-scanning device and a 17” monitor were stolen while the booth was unattended around 4:20 a.m. on Thursday.

Last year, the MMDA started using biometric data in their dispatch system to prevent bus drivers with more than two traffic violations from taking to the road.

Before leaving the terminal, the drivers’ fingerprints are scanned. Records of violations are displayed on the monitor based on a databank of bus drivers.

The system was launched at the terminal where the burglary took place.

Investigators said the thief entered the area through the window on the second floor of the dispatch booth. The lock on the window had been  broken.

MMDA employees discovered the burglary when they reported for work on Thursday.