MMDA dismayed over LTO’s refusal to revoke Carabuena’s license

MANILA -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) expressed its disappointment with the Land Transportation Office's (LTO) refusal to revoke the driver's license of Robert Blair Carabuena who was caught on camera mauling a traffic enforcer last year.

MMDA lodged a complaint against Carabuena for slapping and verbally assaulting MMDA traffic enforcer Saturnino Fabros last August 11, 2012, at the Tandang Sora Capitol Hills intersection in Quezon City. 

"Mr. Carabuena's action was not only a crime, but a clear and blatant disregard for authority. People like him with that kind of temper and behavior should not be allowed to drive along our roads because he is a danger not only to our enforcers, but to other motorists as well. This is not simply disregarding a traffic officer," MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said in a statement.

"A mere issuance of warning is not enough for Mr. Carabuena and we still believe that his driver's license should be revoked," he added. 

The agency will file a Motion for Reconsideration on the said case, Tolentino said.

In a decision, the LTO found that Carabuena was not in violation of Sec. 21 of the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.

The agency said Carabuena's act was only a "mere traffic violation which does not merit the harsh penalty of revocation."

He was also not guilty of "operating or using a motor vehicle in, or as an accessory to, the commission of any crime or at which endangers the public."

Instead, LTO recommended that Carabuena be charged with Disregarding Traffic Signs/Disregarding Traffic Officer. 

Carabuena's actions against the MMDA traffic enforcer were recorded on video which was later featured in a public affairs show in a television network and went viral on the internet.

Carabuena issued a public apology several days after the incident. (Emmanuel Louis Bacani/Sunnex)