MANILA, Philippines - Actor Richard Gutierrez allegedly snapped at traffic enforcers who flagged down a car he was riding for beating the speed limit along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City yesterday morning.
Gutierrez, who was on his way to a taping, allegedly shouted invectives at enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) after the new white Audi SUV, which was without license plates, was flagged down at past 10 a.m.
MMDA traffic enforcer Buddy Caindoy said speed sensors monitored the sport utility vehicle running at 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. The MMDA imposed a 60 kph speed limit along Commonwealth Avenue, dubbed the city’s “killer highway,” last January to curb the incidence of fatal accidents.
A companion was reportedly driving the Audi, but Caindoy said the actor was the one who confronted the traffic enforcers. There were eight MMDA traffic enforcers who flagged down the vehicle, according to Caindoy.
Caindoy said the driver was issued a traffic violation ticket, after which a fine of P1,200 would have to be settled for his license to be reclaimed.
ABS-CBN reported that Gutierrez’s sister, Ruffa, said in her Twitter account that the driver was just one of 180 motorists cited for traffic violations on Commonwealth Avenue.
In 2009, Gutierrez was driving his Nissan GTR sports car when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a lamppost along the northbound lane of the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road in Silang, Cavite. He and a companion were injured while his assistant, Nomar Pardo, was killed.
Meanwhile, 11-year-old Edilberto Jacuya, was reportedly playing along Commonwealth Avenue when a vehicle hit him at around 2:30 a.m. yesterday. He died on the spot.
Engineer Ricardo Debalocos, 38, who works for the Quezon City government, was driving his Mitsubishi Estrada home to Camarin, Caloocan when the boy suddenly bolted from the center island, as if playing with another child, near the Commonwealth Market.