EDITORIAL - Who owns this SUV?

Two days after a Cadillac Escalade entered the EDSA busway and nearly hit a traffic enforcer, with the passenger giving the enforcers the dirty finger as the sport utility vehicle sped away, the Land Transportation Office has yet to trace the owner of the SUV.

The LTO did say on Monday that the “7” protocol plate on the SUV – a number assigned to senators – was fake. Until last night, however, the LTO still could not identify the owner and driver of the Escalade, or the passenger who flashed the dirty finger.

A senator said he learned from the LTO that there are only 24 Escalades registered with the agency all over the country. How hard can it be to trace the ownership, and pin down the owner of the SUV that entered the busway? Even if the protocol plate was fake, all registered vehicles have conduction stickers. Was the sticker on the Escalade also fake?

With the LTO unable to trace the owner, suspicions persist that the protocol plate was not fake and the Escalade actually belongs to a senator. It would not be the first time that it would happen. In April, Sen. Francis Escudero admitted owning the “7” protocol plate on a Toyota Land Cruiser that was apprehended on the busway by the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation of the Department of Transportation. The driver surrendered his license to the enforcer without rolling down the window low enough to show who was the passenger. Escudero, who was not yet the Senate president at the time and was therefore not authorized to use the busway, said the vehicle with his protocol plate was driven by the driver of “a family member” whom he did not identify. He did not address speculations that the passenger was his wife, actress Heart Evangelista. Was the driver penalized?

In May, another senator drew flak for not only having two motorcycle escorts from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to part the traffic for his convoy, but also for the use of fake Philippine National Police insignias on the MMDA bikes. Sen. Francis Tolentino, former MMDA head, claimed his office has no control over the use of PNP stickers. He was also miffed by the apprehension of his two escorts, arguing that they violated no law.

Now the public awaits the LTO finding on the latest intrusion into the EDSA busway by an SUV with “7” plates. If the plates are fake, it highlights the ease of faking the latest edition of vehicle license plates, which warrants an investigation. If the protocol plate is genuine, the public has a right to know the identity of the abusive owner.