The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday issued a show cause order against an alleged police officer who was caught on a viral video blocking a fire truck and making an uncalled-for remark against the vehicle’s driver.

The show cause order was issued to the registered owner of the Toyota Vios and the driver involved in the incident. They were directed to appear before the LTO Intelligence and Investigation Division (IID) along East Avenue, Quezon City, on 29 January at 1 p.m.

The respondents were ordered to submit a verified or sworn explanation, along with supporting documents, to justify why they should not face administrative charges for obstruction and why the driver’s license should not be suspended for being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao stressed that obstructing emergency vehicles is unacceptable, especially during rescue and response operations.

“Ang mga fire truck at iba pang emergency response na sasakyan ay may kritikal na tungkulin sa pagprotekta ng buhay at ari-arian ng mga mamamayan,” the LTO chief said.

“Ang pagharang sa kanilang daanan at paggawa ng hindi angkop na pag-uugali ay hindi lamang labag sa batas kundi labag din sa mga prinsipyo ng pagiging responsableng mamamayan at public servant kung sakaling ang nasangkot ay isang kawani ng gobyerno,” he added.

The LTO said the vehicle involved has been placed under alarm status while the investigation is ongoing. The driver’s license has been suspended for 90 days and the driver was directed to surrender it to the agency upon receipt of the show cause order.

Separately, the LTO said a subpoena was also issued to the owner of the fire truck, who was invited to testify during the IID hearing.

The agency also cited a separate incident involving a motorcycle rider in Bacolod City who was caught on video obstructing a fire truck despite its blaring siren. The LTO Negros Island Region later found that the rider was not the registered owner of the motorcycle.

LTO-NIR said it has already issued a show cause order against both the motorcycle owner and the rider involved in the video.