St. Luke’s Medical Center issued a statement denying its relation to the driver behind the road rage incident that went viral over the weekend.
In a statement, the medical center clarified that Tomas Joaquin C. Mendez, said to be a doctor, “is currently not connected with the hospital or any company that is affliated with SLMC.”
The hospital explained that Mendez was a “former ENT resident trainee” and he was “never a part of St. Luke’s roster of practicing physicians.”
The statement added: “St. Luke’s will never condone this type of behavior.”
After appearing in two separate road rage incidents captured on video, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has issued a show cause order to the driver who went ballistic on another motorist over a petty traffic argument.
According to the Department of Transportation, the LTO has ordered the presence of Mendez at the Intelligence and Investigation of its central office in East Avenue, Quezon City on Thursday at 2 p.m.
The agency said that Mendez has to file a sworn statement, explaining why he should not be administratively liable under Section 27 of Republic Act No. 4136.
Under Section 27, the LTO has the authority to suspend or revoke any driver’s license found to be not fit to operate a motor vehicle.
Mendez appeared in a viral video over the weekend, which showed him berating another motorist over a traffic argument at a gas station.
Prior to this incident, the same man was caught in another video in a similar situation.
Following the incident, the DOTr reminded motorists to remain calm when on the road to avoid situations like this.
“Sa mga panahon po na tayo ay biglang ma-involve sa isang traffic incident, huwag po sanang pairalin ang init ng ulo at umabot pa sa punto na tayo ay makikipagmurahan, manlalait, o mananakit ng ating kapwa (If we find ourselves involved in traffic incidents, let’s not lose our temper and get to the point where we curse, belittle or hurt others),” the agency said.