A driver of a passenger jeepney was arrested after he was found driving under the influence of alcohol in Camarines Sur.
Passengers aboard a jeepney traveling to Naga City, Camarines Sur from Calabanga Plaza found themselves pleading for their driver to slow down.
As recounted by passengers, the driver exhibited reckless behavior, navigating the streets with alarming speed despite having eight passengers on board.
One of the passengers captured the incident on video.
“Kuya! Kuya! Luway-luway lang, kuya! Para! Para po!” a passenger said in the video.
Concern grew among the passengers as the jeepney careened through the streets, the driving ignoring pleas to stop.
“Para opo, kuya! Lampas na po ako. Para po! Lampas na po ako, kuya,” another passenger said.
Upon reaching the chapel in San Roque, Bombon, some passengers disembarked, shaken.
The incident immediately reached the authorities prompting a response from the police.
The driver was arrested later by police from Bombon with the assistance of barangay officials from San Roque.
“Tulos man kaming nag-responde and hinabol mi si driver. Na-apprehend man din siya kang mga barangay tanod sa may Barangay San Roque [kasi] nasundan man tulos kan kapu-pulisan,” PCPT Richilda Matias, Chief of Police at Bombon MPS, said.
The driver was found to be drunk.
“Base sa imbestigasyon, burat-burat po si tao kasi kang pakababa niya tulos ning jeep, nagturog na lang siya sa tahaw kan tinampo,” Matias added.
The driver of the jeep was released eventually but was issued a ticket for reckless driving under the municipal ordinance of Bombon.
The Bombon Municipal Police Station is coordinating with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and LTFRB for appropriate action.
The case has been endorsed to the LTO Naga District Office for the issuance of a show cause order to the driver and operator of the jeepney.
“Kung ako lang ang tatanungin, it [should be] a revocation of driver’s license; kasi definitely since sila ang nagda-drive ng public utility vehicle dapat zero alcohol,” Grace Rojas, chief of the LTO Naga District Office, said.
