The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday issued traffic violation tickets to the two drivers who tagged Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. in the EDSA bus lane violation on Wednesday.
The drivers surrendered at the MMDA head office in Pasig City to receive the citation tickets issued against them after they were flagged by MMDA enforcers for illegally entering the EDSA bus lane.
MMDA Acting Chairperson Romando Artes said he talked to the drivers and they both admitted Revilla was not onboard the vehicle they were driving. They also denied the senator owns their car.
Meanwhile, the traffic enforcers who reported to suspended MMDA Task Force Special Operations chief Bong Nebrija that Revilla was inside the vehicle admitted they did not see the lawmaker and only relied on the statement of one of the drivers who implicated the senator.
“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,” said Artes in a statement.
The MMDA has penalized the drivers with a P5,000 fine as first-time offenders but said it would be up to Revilla to file the necessary charges against them.
Cases may be filed
For his part, Revilla said his camp is eyeing filing charges against the erring drivers for “impersonating” him.
“While we leave it to the MMDA to pursue legal actions arising from their traffic violations, we are contemplating filing charges against them for impersonating me,” the senator said.
“If there is one good that came out of this, we exposed the wrong practice that a single person in the MMDA believes he has the power to select to whom the law applies,” he added.
On Wednesday, Artes announced that Nebrija will be put under preventive suspension starting November 16 for disclosing that Revilla was apprehended for using the EDSA bus lane—a report which the senator denied.
Artes said the enforcers and Nebrija did not see if the senator was indeed inside the vehicle.
The suspension may take 15 to 30 days, Artes said, as they need to fully investigate the matter.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
