Bong Revilla was accused of passing the EDSA bus lane
Is the Bong Revilla-MMDA issue a case of mistaken identity or a simple incident when mindlessness reigned?
This issue started when Ret. Col. Bong Nebrija, head of the Task Force Special Operations (TFSO) of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) stated that the convoy of Senator Revilla passed the Edsa bus lane which is indeed for buses only.
However, the actor-politician denied that his convoy or his vehicle was passing the EDSA Mandaluyong route. He also ordered the MMDA to clarify this issue.
Because of the incident, Nebrija was suspended. In a recent update posted by MMDA on its official website, the two drivers who name-dropped Sen. Bong Revilla surrendered. The two drivers admitted that the Senator was not in the car at that time and that he did not own the vehicle.
“The Agency considers this a welcome development in light of the incident as the agency conducts a probe and determines the lapses in the procedures in the implementation of the EDSA Bus Lane regulation,” MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Don Artes at the MMDA Head Office in Pasig City said.
The drivers were penalized P5000 for the first offense. However, it is in Senator Revilla’s volition to file the necessary charges against them for name-dropping him. Artes also said that Nebrija was suspended “not because he was doing his job but because he went overboard.”
Nebrija said that it was his call to let the vehicle pass as their agent on the field said that Sen. Revilla was in the car. The agent said that he did not see that the actor-politician was indeed in the car.
With this, it simply showed that mindlessness happened. The agent could have checked properly if the Senator was really in the vehicle and Nebrija could have double-checked it. It is quite common for some people to use the names of people in position in this kind of situation, they could have anticipated this thing to happen.
Nebrija could have prevented the negative effect of this on him if he had been careful with his statement during the interview. He could have asked Sen. Bong Revilla to confirm or deny this name-dropping incident.
MMDA should be more systematic in dealing with this kind of situation and they should apply fairness and equality whether the transgressor is an ordinary citizen or a high-ranking official.