“Abuse of power.”
This was how “Pinoy Big Brother: 737” alum and entrepreneur Dawn Chang reacted to the reported post of a TikTok personality who used the Highway Patrol Group‘s services to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
Dawn on Friday responded to a viral tweet of an online user who raised awareness about a woman whose husband allegedly “hired” an HPG escort to make sure she would not be stuck in traffic on the road.
Social media users identified her as Mary Joy Santiago, a TikTok personality and Viva artist who was previously accused of being the third party in McCoy de Leon and Elisse Joson’s breakup before.
A user on the X (formerly Twitter) platform posted a screengrab of an Instagram Story of Mary Joy, expressing shock that one can “hire” the HPG.
“How can I settle for less when my husband hired a HPG ESCORT para lang hindi ako ma-traffic sa pupuntahan ko? (plus have my own driver and car),” the Viva artist said on the post with a heart emoji.
“So this woman flexed on her stories about how her husband ‘hired’ the Highway Patrol Group or HPG para [‘di] daw [siya] ma-stuck sa traffic. [Pwede] pala ‘yon?!” the X user said in a now-viral tweet.
This reached Dawn, who also called out the action for the “abuse of power.”
“Abuse of power, tolerating wrongdoing, and seeing it as a privilege and a green flag — a recipe for disaster,” the PBB alum said on June 7.
Abuse of power, tolerating wrongdoing, and seeing it as a privilege and a green flag – a recipe for disaster. https://t.co/ndV6shxlkg
— Dawn Chang (@thedawnchang) June 7, 2024
A Facebook page also posted the IG Story, which has similarly reached viral status on the social networking platform.
Some Filipinos tagged the Highway Patrol Group, who commented that it was “not for hire.”
“Good morning sir [or] ma’am, for info, hindi for hire ang HPG. If you have [a] complaint about our personnel, don’t hesitate to go [to] our office. We much appreciate your help, thank you,” it responded to one of the users in the comments.
Another X user showed a screengrab of the HPG claiming in the comments that its legal team was now “filing a complaint against the uploader with malicious serious accusations against HPG personnel.”
Meanwhile, Mary Joy has not yet publicly addressed the issue as of this writing.
Based on its history, the HPG is a specialized and dedicated police unit under the Philippine National Police mandated to safeguard the country’s highways and ensure that the roads are safe and secure for all road users.
It is tasked with enforcing traffic safety laws, generally supervising local police forces regarding traffic law enforcement, assisting the Land Transportation Office, enforcing driver’s licenses and motor vehicle registration and regulating public carriers.
Unlike personnel of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, who are also on the road, HPG personnel can conduct arrests.
HPG personnel can likewise chase and arrest traffic violators on the spot.
