TRANSPORTATION Secretary Giovanni Lopez has ordered the relief of a senior official of the Department of Transportation’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (Saict) following an incident involving an ambulance on the EDSA Busway.
The official, Rayson dela Torre, head of the Saict Special Operations Group, was relieved after he was reportedly involved in an operation last Monday in which an ambulance was flagged down for transporting a patient for a medical checkup.
The vehicle was later allowed to continue using the busway.
Lopez said on-duty ambulances are allowed on the EDSA Busway regardless of the patient’s condition, emphasizing that enforcement must always be guided by sound judgment.
“Emergency vehicles should never be impeded. Compassion and discretion must be exercised at all times,” Lopez said.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) expressed sympathy to the patient’s family and assured the public that it is strengthening internal measures to ensure that enforcement policies are implemented with sensitivity and professionalism.
The department reiterated that public safety remains its foremost priority.
Dela Torre had earlier said only EDSA Carousel buses, vehicles with protocol plates 1 to 5, and emergency vehicles responding to actual emergencies are authorized to use the busway.
Law enforcement vehicles are also permitted access.
The Saict intensified its enforcement operations at the Santolan Bus Station on Monday, apprehending more than 10 motorists for illegally using the EDSA Busway.
Among those flagged were drivers of two ambulances using the lane even though they were not responding to actual emergencies.
Dela Torre said the agency has observed a growing misuse of emergency vehicles to bypass heavy traffic.
He added that ambulances passing through the busway are now being stopped and checked for dispatch documents and the actual condition of their patients.
Dela Torre stressed that “patient transport vehicles” used for scheduled medical appointments do not qualify as emergency vehicles and are not allowed to use the busway.