Swift suspension of a dancing motorcycle rider’s license leaves motorists wondering whether their own long-pending concerns could be filmed and set to a song
QUEZON CITY – The Land Transportation Office has issued a show-cause order to a motorcycle rider whose viral video showed him performing stunts on a moving bike fitted with an illegally modified muffler, suspending his license for 90 days and summoning him to appear on October 14.
The action, reported by The Manila Times, was widely praised as correct, since the stunts were plainly dangerous. It was also noted for its speed. Motorists across the capital spent the weekend studying the case and arriving at a shared conclusion: the fastest route to official attention in the Philippines is a ring light.
The Desk
Inside a transport office annex on East Avenue, a small team monitors social media for road offenses. Glenda Pascual, a traffic records officer reassigned to the unit last year, watches short videos for six hours each working day.
“People think this is a fun job,” Ms. Pascual said, without looking up from three screens. “By Wednesday I have seen four hundred men standing on the seat of a moving motorcycle. I have seen a man steer with his feet while eating pancit. I no longer enjoy music. When a song starts, I check for a plate number.”
She said the unit’s work is straightforward. “The rider films the violation. He adds a caption. He tags his location. Sometimes he tags us. We do not have to investigate. We have to scroll.”
How a Case Moves
- Hour 1: Video is uploaded.
- Hour 3: Video reaches 200,000 views. Comments section identifies the rider, his barangay, his cousin and his former school.
- Hour 9: A news page reposts it with the caption “LOOK.”
- Hour 14: A show-cause order is drafted.
- Hour 24: License suspended. Press statement issued.
- Hour 30: Rider uploads an apology video. It also goes viral.
Motorists Take Notes
For drivers with slower-moving concerns, the timeline was instructive. Ramil Dizon, 44, a delivery van driver from Bacoor, said he has reported the same pothole on his route since 2022.
“I wrote a letter. I called a hotline. I went to an office and was given a number,” Mr. Dizon said. “Now I understand my mistake. I did not dance. This week I am going to stand beside the pothole and do the steps my daughter taught me. I already chose the song.”
Others are making similar plans. A motorcycle owner in Valenzuela who says he has waited years for his permanent license plate is rehearsing a routine with the temporary one. A commuter group has proposed filming the entire length of a flooded underpass as a synchronized swimming number.
A National Form Letter
Legal scholars say the show-cause order has become the country’s signature document. Atty. Josefina Madrigal-Tan, who teaches administrative law in Manila, described it as “a letter asking you to explain in writing why you should not be punished for the thing everyone has already watched you do.”
“It is a very polite instrument,” she said. “It does not say you are guilty. It says, we have seen the video, as have two million other Filipinos, and we would like to hear your side. Then it suspends you while it waits.”
She said the system reveals an unwritten rule of jurisdiction. “An offense committed in front of a traffic enforcer is a violation,” she said. “An offense committed in front of the internet is a priority. An offense nobody filmed is, administratively speaking, a rumor.”
The contrast with other parts of the justice system is sharp. The Justice Department said this week that about 4,000 prosecutors are handling 421,000 cases awaiting assessment, and asked the public for patience. Atty. Madrigal-Tan said complainants should not read anything into the difference. “Those cases are simply not trending,” she said.
The Riding Community Responds
Rider groups have urged members to stop performing stunts, and several stressed that the rule applies off-camera as well. Rolando Buenviaje, president of a 300-member riding club in Caloocan, addressed the matter at its monthly meeting.
“I told them, do not dance on the motorcycle,” Mr. Buenviaje said. “One of the young ones asked, what if we do not post it. I said that is not the lesson. He said, but that is the part that got him caught. I had to end the meeting.”
He said the club has adopted a new rule. Members who wish to dance may do so at the Christmas party, on the ground, with the engine off.
As Seen From Overseas
The episode has drawn comparison abroad. Bohiney Magazine noted that American drivers also confess to offenses on video but are usually rewarded with a sponsorship. The London Prat said the British equivalent is a cyclist with a helmet camera, who films other people’s offenses and is disliked by everyone involved, including the police.
The Hearing
The rider is due at the transport office on October 14 to explain himself. Ms. Pascual said the unit will be ready. “We have the video,” she said. “We have the remix. We have the reaction videos. It is a strong case.”
Mr. Dizon filmed his pothole routine Sunday morning. As of press time it had 61 views, most of them his relatives. He said he was not discouraged. “It is early,” he said. “And the pothole is not going anywhere.”
SOURCE: bohiney.com