THE driver of the SUV that illegally used the EDSA busway with a fake “7” protocol plate, assigned to senators, has surrendered to authorities, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced Wednesday.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II revealed in a press conference that the mystery surrounding the ownership and individuals behind the controversial vehicle has been solved.
“The driver and the registered owner of the SUV contacted us yesterday and informed us that they would show up and take responsibility for the unfortunate incident at Guadalupe, Makati,” Mendoza said.
The driver, identified as Angelito Edpan, 52, is an employee of Orient Pacific Corporation, the owner of the vehicle. Edpan explained that they were transporting investors when the incident occurred.
While Edpan denied any knowledge of how the fake “7” protocol plate was obtained, Orient Pacific Corporation has launched an internal investigation into the matter.
According to Edpan, two guests and another company driver were in the vehicle when the incident occurred. They were traveling from a restaurant to a mall. Edpan claimed he was unaware of the identities of the guests.
Edpan apologized for his actions, stating that he was in a hurry and mistakenly believed the EDSA busway was open to regular vehicles on that Sunday. “No one ordered me. I was really in a hurry. I tried [entering the EDSA busway] because it was a Sunday and I thought there would be no [prohibition] so I tried to enter,” he said.
Orient Pacific Corporation director Omar Guinomla expressed the company’s commitment to cooperating with the LTO investigation. “Our group came here to apologize to LTO and sa mga principals because of the incident. That’s our main purpose that’s why we are here,” he said. “Rest assured we will cooperate with the investigation. In fact, meron din kami (we also have an) internal investigation of our own. Siguro (Maybe) within the day, we will be making a statement regarding this,” he added.
The LTO has confirmed that Edpan committed several violations, including disregarding traffic signs (P1,000 fine), reckless driving (P2,000 fine), illegal use of a protocol plate (P5,000 fine), and failure to attach a regular plate (P1,000 fine). A show cause order will be issued to Orient Pacific Corporation.
