DAVAO CITY – President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte’s eldest son Paolo, who is also this city’s incumbent vice mayor, was arrested by a traffic enforcer at dawn yesterday for overspeeding at a highway here.
And it was the young Duterte, himself, who disclosed the details why traffic enforcer Jonathan Frigillana had to stop him for driving at 57 kilometers per hour in a portion of MacArthur Highway in Bangkal District in this city.
Paolo explained that he was driving on a fast clip because he was in a hurry to go home “for fear of his wife January.”
On his Facebook page, Paulo even posted a copy of the temporary operator’s permit that Frigillana issued to him for his infraction. The TOP cited him for breaching the 40-kph speed limit when he clipped 57 kph.
A city ordinance limits speeds to 30, 40, or 60 kph in certain areas that validated Executive Order No. 39 which was issued by the elder Duterte in 2013.
In the same Facebook post, Paolo said he was hurrying home because his “kumander” was already angry.
“Now we are even!” Duterte posted in Cebuano, referring to other violators of the ordinance. “This is why men should not be afraid of their wives!”
Paolo also lauded Frigillana, who was not intimidated even after realizing that he was issuing a speeding ticket to the city’s vice mayor, much more, the son of the next president of the country.
He likewise vowed that, to atone for his infraction, he would be monitoring other apprehensions at other speeding hotspots in Mulig and Mintal which are located in the outskirts of the city.
It was not the first time that a Duterte was caught violating this city’s strict road laws.
Incoming Mayor Sara Duterte was also caught overspeeding in January 2014, while the incoming president was once apprehended in 2009 for not wearing a helmet while on board a motorcycle.
Both insisted on being cited for the violation.