Philippine new president gives up traffic privileges
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino III will continue adhering to traffic rules despite concerns about his security and punctuality, his spokesperson said on Sunday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a radio interview that Aquino would rather wake up earlier than renege on his inaugural pronouncement that he would not enjoy the privilege of using sirens and counterflowing traffic to speed up road travel.
"He told us, 'I will have to be an example to the Filipino people.' So he really wants to set an example in following traffic rules. There's a solution to being late for an early engagement, which is to wake up early. There are solutions. We could work around those limitations," Lacierda said.
He said that the Presidential Security Group, which is tasked with protecting the Chief Executive and members of his immediate family, apparently wants Mr. Aquino to avail of his traffic privileges to ensure his uninterrupted road trips but the President has the final say on the matter.
"President Aquino has spoken. He doesn't want to use sirens so this has to be followed. He is the President, he has the final say, " Lacierda said.
He noted that private citizens have "taken upon themselves to really observe and follow the example of President Aquino" and the latter wants it to remain that way.
He said the National Police is expected to release a report on the number of people who have volunteered to give up their sirens and blinkers, following the President's example.
Mr. Aquino's aversion to the use of sirens caused his convoy to arrive 30 minutes late for the formal handover of the Armed Forces command in Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.
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