The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed Saturday, April 13, that the lady driver who claimed to be a military officer and niece of a general to avoid being cited for a traffic violation after being caught using an exclusive bus lane in Makati City is not part of the military.
Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said the erring lady driver misrepresented herself as being part of the military organization just to get out of traffic violation.
“Yes, [she’s] not a member [of AFP],” Padilla said.
“As per initial checking, we do not have that personality within the office that she was mentioning in the video that was posted,” she added.
Padilla further stated that the “Major General Reyes” that the lady driver claims to be as his uncle is also not from the AFP.
“That Major General Reyes is not within our ranks, he is not from the AFP,” she said.
“[He’s] from the PNP [Philippine National Police],” she added.
It can be recalled that the unidentified driver was onboard a black Toyota Fortuner SUV when she was apprehended around 6:35 p.m. on April 11 at the south bound lane of Guadalupe Carousel Station by personnel of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG).
The SAICT said the driver was estimated to be between 40 and 43 years old. She was reported to the Metrobase for speeding in the Carousel Bus Lane while heading towards Guadalupe from Ortigas.
The lady driver refused to give her license to an apprehending traffic personnel as she identified herself as “Major Miguel,” claiming that she is a member of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP).
She also claimed that she is a niece of one Major General Mario Reyes.
The incident was caught in a video that was posted by the SAICT on Facebook. The video has been shared by various social media pages.
The DOTr had already sought a show cause order for the lady driver from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to explain why she evaded the traffic violation.