LTO-6 suspends driver’s license after sedan blocks fire truck

By Gerome Dalipe

The Land Transportation Office–Western Visayas (LTO-6) imposed a three-month suspension on a motorist’s driver’s license after his sedan illegally parked and blocked a fire truck responding to a major structural fire in Jaro on Sept. 24.

LTO-6 Regional Director Gaudioso P. Geduspan II signed the administrative resolution imposing the suspension and a PHP 1,010 fine for illegal parking under Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01.

The agency also placed an alarm on the vehicle and ordered the driver to immediately surrender his license and attend a mandatory driver reorientation seminar.

The incident occurred along Jalandoni Street as firefighters battled a blaze that escalated to a third alarm, and rescue personnel and bystanders — with a traffic aide’s help — were forced to physically push the sedan so the ICAG Volunteer Fire Brigade’s truck could exit its station.

“It took more than 10 minutes to move the car so our firetruck could get out,” the brigade’s caretaker said.

LTO-6 issued a show cause order citing Section 46(f) of Republic Act 4136, which bans parking in front of driveways and other emergency access points.

The driver told investigators he had stopped for roughly 10–12 minutes to process burial assistance documents nearby, but the LTO-6 Intelligence and Investigation Unit said photographic evidence and witness statements confirmed the violation and its harmful effect on emergency response.

“As a licensed driver, [the motorist] is expected to observe traffic laws and exercise sound judgment,” Director Geduspan wrote in the resolution.

“His decision to park in a restricted area, particularly one vital to emergency response, reflects a lapse in responsibility and due diligence.”

LTO-6 framed the sanction as part of a broader push to mainstream road-safety measures under the reform agenda of newly installed LTO chief Assistant Secretary Markus V. Lacanilao, with overall guidance from Department of Transportation acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez.