By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz | Philippine News Agency
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Sec. Giovanni Lopez on Wednesday sacked an executive of the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT) and clarified that all on-duty ambulances are allowed to pass through the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) Busway.
Lopez made the decision through a memorandum addressed to SAICT Special Operations Group (SOG) Head Rayson Dela Torre.
In the memorandum, he said Dela Torre flagged down an ambulance passing through the EDSA Busway that was carrying a stage 4 cancer patient on the way to a 6:00 a.m. doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.
The incident was shown in a television news report, where Dela Torre stated that non-emergencies, such as transporting a patient to a medical appointment, are not an acceptable reason for an ambulance to use the EDSA Busway.
However, Lopez stressed that on-duty ambulances are allowed to use the EDSA Busway, regardless of the condition of the patient.
“Further, while the investigation is ongoing, you are hereby relieved from your assignment as SOG head in EDSA Busway,” he said in his memorandum.
To avoid similar incidents, he also ordered the SAICT to conduct a reorientation of personnel assigned to the busway on policies issued by the DOTr.
“The Department of Transportation expresses its heartfelt sympathy to the patient’s family. We are assuring the public that necessary measures are being taken to ensure that enforcement policies will be implemented with compassion and that the people’s safety will always be the transport agency’s priority and paramount concern,” Lopez said.
A post that went viral on Facebook showed that the patient on board the flagged-down ambulance had passed away.
Netizens decried the treatment given to the patient and the SAICT’s alleged lack of understanding of the situation.
