Maria Isabel Lopez claims she didn't intend to breach ASEAN security protocol

Actress Maria Isabel Lopez appears before Land Transportation Office Law Enforcement Service Director Francis Ray Almora on Wednesday, November 16, 2017, after the LTO threatened to cancel her driver's license for violating ASEAN Lane traffic policy on EDSA last November 11. GMA News

Actress Maria Isabel Lopez said on Thursday she never intended to breach security protocols when she removed traffic cones and used a lane on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) reserved for delegates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Lopez, also a former beauty queen, was summoned by the Land Transportation Office to explain why her driver’s license should not be suspended or revoked.

She arrived at the Law Enforcement Service office of Director Francis Ray Almora along with lawyers Katherine Panguban and Maria Sol Taule before 10 a.m.

“Alam mo sinabi ko naman sa kanila na ang intention ko is simply not to breach the security because I was talking to an MMDA official. If there is an intention to breach security I wouldn’t have to talk to him. You will just go ahead and do what you want,” Lopez told reporters in an interview.

“Plus, siyempre, once again I’m apologizing to the people I have inconvenienced, 'yung public, those people who missed their flights. It was a lapse of judgment on my part,” she said.

The LTO had said Lopez disregarded the traffic sign, breached the security protocol for the 31st ASEAN Summit, and violated the Anti-Distracted Driving Act.

Lopez was an "improper person to operate a motor vehicle" since she had endangered the safety of the public and government property, the agency noted.

Almora said the LTO cannot yet make a decision on the matter as Lopez did not submit a petition paper.

Her lawyers said that they will file a petition paper within the day.

“But unfortunately Ms. Lopez was not ready with a formal position paper. She just narrated her ... the event that transpired according to her appreciation ... Sa kanyang side lang po,” Almora said.

“So we have to require them to submit 'yung formal po na position paper po nila until this afternoon,” he added.

A decision will be released within five days after the LTO has received Lopez' petition.

The ASEAN lanes reduced the number of lanes non-ASEAN motorists could use as part of the security measures for leaders and heads of state and their entourage, causing traffic jams on EDSA last week. — VDS, GMA News