On May 22, motorist Miguel Vistan was driving in Sampaloc, Manila when he was stopped by traffic enforcer Efren Fria who claimed that Vistan ran the red light on Quintos street, which confused the motorist.
Vistan shared on Facebook that he was apprehended for the traffic violation, which led to the officer confiscating his license. According to Vistan, he showed Fria footage from his dashcam to show no traffic violation occurred.
In the video, Vistan passed by the intersection with the traffic light still in green. After a few meters in, he was called to the curb by Fria.
Netizens shared their thoughts on the matter, considering Vistan was apprehended for changing lanes in the intersection, but in the now taken down photo of the ticket, his violation was passing the red light.
After expressing his disappointment online, Vistan was called to Manila City Hall by Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) chief Wilson Chan Sr. to settle the situation. Vistan presented his entire dashcam footage spanning from Lacson street to Maceda street to the MTPB Chief, who agreed that Vistan was wrongfully ticketed.
Per Mayor Isko Moreno’s and MTPB director’s instructions, Fria would be terminated and Vistan would get back his confiscated license.
“Let’s make this a practice to properly report these corrupt officers, and not condone their practices just to not be hassled,” Vistan’s recent post on Facebook read.
“I would also like to stress the importance of dashcams for our own safety and peace of mind. It played such a vital role in this issue, and I strongly suggest everyone have one for their cars in case situations like these arise,” he added.
