The Department of Transportation - Special Action Intelligence Committee for Transportation’s (DOTr-SAICT) special operations group head has been relieved from his post after flagging an on-duty ambulance that was on the EDSA Busway, said the DOTr on Wednesday.

“It was reported that the SAICT official flagged the ambulance during the operations because it was transporting a patient for a medical check-up, and not for an emergency case. The said ambulance was still allowed to use the busway after it was flagged,” the agency’s statement read.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, however, clarified that regardless of the severity of the patient’s condition, any on-duty ambulance is allowed to use the busway.

The DOTr extended its sympathies to the patient’s family. It assured that the enforcement of policies will be done with compassion and that people’s safety remains its top priority.