EDITORIAL - Abuse of privilege

Last week the Philippine National Police recovered two sets of number 8 vanity plates from the vehicles of a private citizen in Pasig. The owner also had stickers of the Office of the President and House of Representatives on one of the vehicles, a Chevrolet Suburban. He said the plates and stickers came with the vehicle when he bought it from the previous owner.

Also last week, police seized the FJ Cruiser with a number 8 plate of musician Jojo Valerio, who was shown on social media in a road rage incident. Why are non-lawmakers using number 8 plates, which are assigned only to members of Congress?

Pantaleon Alvarez, when he was House speaker in 2016, had ordered the recall of all such plates issued in the previous Congress. Alvarez issued the order after four vehicles including a luxury Jaguar sporting the 8 plates were seen parked at a cybersex den in Pasay City during an operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation. Last week, Imelda Marcos posted P150,000 bail for seven counts of graft involving P2 billion, and rode in a mini-bus with a number 8 plate issued in 2013.

Traffic enforcers must not hesitate to confiscate the plates and apprehend vehicles bearing protocol plates in case of violations. The apprehension must be recorded on a smartphone, for possible uploading on social media in case an arrogant lawmaker demands exemption from the rules. The arrogant official can be sure that public opinion will be overwhelmingly on the side of the traffic enforcer who will do his job.

If public officials are discouraged from using blinkers and sirens or wang-wang for VIP treatment, the use of vanity plates should be included. And toss in “hawi boys” – motorcycle cops who, in the absence of wang-wang for the officials’ vehicles, part the traffic for those who think they deserve VIP treatment.

Members of Congress are not above the law, but in fact must lead by example in following the laws of the land. This includes traffic rules. If lawmakers are forced to slog through daily traffic like lesser mortals, they might even come up with measures to untangle the horrendous gridlocks.