MMDA official's suspension insufficient; lawmaker, teachers' group demand removal

MANILA, Philippines — ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have called out Gabriel Go, chief of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Special Operations Group-Task Force for Road Clearing, stressing that public officials should enforce regulations courteously while also respecting people’s rights and dignity. In a statement on Thursday, Tinio said that Go should be removed from office instead of merely being suspended, citing repeated violations of MMDA directives, particularly his practice of posting apprehension videos on his personal social media accounts. “A suspension is not enough for an official who turns the abuse of our citizens — especially our teachers who faithfully serve the nation — into content for his personal social media page while on official time,” Tinio added. READ: MMDA’s Go suspended from clearing ops after viral incident with teacher The MMDA has placed Go on suspension while it investigates the July 14 video that showed him apprehending a motorcycle-riding teacher who was not wearing a helmet. Go regularly posts videos of road-clearing operations on his personal Facebook account, although the faces of the violators are blurred out. In the video, he admonished the teacher for not wearing a helmet, saying he should set an example for children by following the rules. READ: MMDA exec apologizes for shaming cop during clearing op Tinio, however, accused Go of disrespecting the teacher, who had reportedly asked that the video not be shown publicly. While acknowledging that the teacher had violated the helmet law, the Makabayan bloc lawmaker said that public officials must enforce regulations with courtesy, humility and respect for people’s rights and dignity. “Go exemplifies the arrogance and disregard for basic rights that those in authority display toward the public all too often,” Tinio said. He added that Go’s behavior “toward our teachers and the public is extremely disrespectful and abusive as he accused the MMDA official of using the agency’s power “for his own interests and social media fame instead of enforcing the law with integrity.” In a separate statement, ACT noted that the MMDA had previously prohibited employees from using enforcement operations for online content after past controversies led to criticism and potential legal or administrative issues. The group noted that documentation of MMDA operations should be conducted only by its Public Information Office. ACT chair Ruby Bernardo stressed that they did not condone traffic violations committed by teachers, noting that the teacher in the July 14 video had acknowledged his mistake. However, she criticized Go for humiliating him despite the latter’s request not to post the video publicly. “The purpose of traffic law enforcement is to ensure public safety and compliance with the law, not to publicly shame violators,” Bernardo said. /cb /atm