Wang-wang crackdown: HPG seizes 179 sirens

MANILA, Philippines — Police have confiscated 179 blinkers and sirens in nearly two weeks of the intensified crackdown on the use of “wang-wang” nationwide, the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) reported on Tuesday.

Data from the HPG showed that 165 blinkers and 14 sirens were confiscated from motorists from July 1 to 12.

Twenty-eight of the blinkers were seized in Cagayan Valley, followed by 17 in Mimaropa, 16 each in Zamboanga Peninsula and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and 14 each in Caraga and Central Visayas.

In Metro Manila, eight blinkers and seven sirens were confiscated by police.

The blinkers and sirens were among the 768 emergency gadgets and accessories seized by the HPG.

The other confiscated items were 342 LED lamps, 113 modified mufflers, 53 unauthorized plates, 45 fog lights, 22 horns and 14 strobe lights.

The HPG has intensified its drive against the use of sirens in response to the complaints of senators about vehicles using the emergency devices to weave through traffic.

On Friday, HPG director Brig. Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said three government agencies are not authorized to use wang-wang: the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Citing provisions of Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, Marbil said only ambulances, fire trucks and marked police vehicles are authorized to use sirens and blinkers.

The LTO has warned motorists against the unauthorized use of wang-wang.

LTO officer-in-charge Romeo Vera Cruz cautioned the public that there is a standing prohibition on the use of emergency devices.

“Motorists who are unauthorized to use blinkers and sirens should remove these devices on their vehicles or face fines and penalties,” Vera Cruz said in a statement.

Violators will be fined P5,000.

Official vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, fire departments and the PNP are allowed to use wang-wang.

Also allowed to use the emergency devices are the president of the Philippines, vice president, Senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives and the chief justice.

During a press briefing at the MMDA office in Makati yesterday, HPG legal officer Capt. Bingsky Foncardas clarified that government vehicles responding to emergencies may use sirens.

MMDA officer-in-charge Baltazar Melgar said the agency has recalled 26 motorcycle escorts.

“They are now part of the augmentation team assigned along EDSA,” Melgar told The STAR. – Romina Cabrera, Ralph Edwin Villanueva