SUSPENDED Suspended Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Task Force Special Operations Unit chief Bong Nebrija was served a hard lesson owing to his obvious penchant for publicity.
If and when he is able to get his post back, although his detractors wish otherwise, he should and could no longer project the image that no one is above the law or that he is at all a stickler for laws.
He had lost his credibility as a fair, just, and upright enforcer of the laws when he narrated to the media how he ordered his men ‘to let go’ when allegedly informed that a convoy they had stopped at the EDSA bus lane was that of Senator Bong Revilla’s.
Of course, as we all know by now, it turned out that the drivers of the vehicles in the said convoy were merely using the name of the senator to avoid being issued tickets.
It’s not the first time that Nebrija got into trouble with lawmakers.
The first was sometime in March, when Manila third district Congressman Joel Chua and 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, hit him for the MMDA’s operations in secondary streets that are no longer considered as ‘Mabuhay Lanes,’ no longer covered by the ‘no parking, no vending’ zone and which fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Manila.
Rep. Chua was then on his way to his appointment when he saw a commotion along the way. He got out of his car and was bombarded by complaints from residents, including apprehending a Grab driver whom Chua said was merely working and taking scaffoldings and other items during the operations.
Rep. Valeriano, on the other hand, also went to the area after receiving many text messages complaining that even vehicles in carwash establishments were being taken by the MMDA. This even prompted Valeriano to comment: “Parang carnapping na ‘yung ginagawa nila (MMDA)” as he and Rep. Chua jointly called for the abolition of the MMDA.
While the two congressmen were working on having Nebrija declared as ‘persona non grata’ in Manila, the MMDA took action and had Nebrija suspended.
Now on hearing about the Revilla incident, Rep. Valeriano said there is really something wrong with what Nebrija had done. The lawmaker narrated how shocked Revilla’s wife, Rep. Lani Mercado was, saying the Senator was sleeping in their home when his purported convoy passed through the said bus lane in EDSA Mandaluyong, a route which the Senator never took as he goes to work daily from the south all the way to the Senate.
In saying that he merely relied on the report of his men, it means that Nebrija based his actions and pronouncements on mere hearsay. Tsk.
Revilla is right in many aspects of what he said during a confrontation with Nebrija. Although Nebrija denied that it was his intention to malign Revilla, that was the effect. He (Nebrija) was grandstanding at the expense of Senator Revilla. It is also worth noting that before this, Nebrija intimated to the media that two Congressmen and a Senator were apprehended for violating the bus lane regulation and in fact even named the Congressman, according to one report.
Revilla was also correct in saying that no matter how Nebrija admits his mistake or apologizes for it, the Senator will still be bashed, as what actually happened, with netizens unleashing a barrage of negative comments without knowing the facts first.
Let me be clear. I do not know Revilla personally. I’m just stating my take on the matter.
Nebrija’s downfall stems from his love for publicity. Granting for the sake of argument that indeed, Revilla was in that convoy. Was it really necessary for him to shame the lawmaker by announcing him to the media as a violator of the bus lane policy? Even MMDA chair Romando Artes stated that the names of the violators are not for public consumption.
I believe that government enforcers must be doing their job without the need for grandstanding because that’s what they are paid for.
Could it be that Nebrija is eyeing an elective post which is why he needs publicity? Hmm…
By the way, according to Nebrija, it was a ‘judgment call’ on his part when he told the enforcer who stopped the convoy ‘to let him go’ after asking if the Senator was in the convoy and his men answered in the affirmative.
The funny thing is, a day or two before Senator Revilla ‘wow mali’ incident, Nebrija was seen on television ‘preaching’ before a motorcycle rider who also used the bus lane. In that video, Nebrija went on to state the punishment and accompanying penalty as he admonished the rider to the max.
The same kind of supposed violation was committed in both instances and yet, the treatment was different.
There is an age-old saying, “what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander” meaning one person or situation should be treated the same way that another person or situation is treated.
It is truly sad that apparently, Nebrija’s so-called ‘judgment call’ favored only those who are prominent or in power. Poor Juan dela Cruz.
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Maraming salamat sa mga mababait at masisipag na doctor ng St. Luke’s Hospital sa Quezon City na personal naming nasaksihan kung paano mag-asikaso ng kanilang mga pasyente matapos akong tamaan ng flu kelan lamang.
Di gaya ng ibang doktor na nagmamadali at limitado lamang ang interaksyon sa mga pasyente, todo asikaso talaga at malasakit ang ipinamalas ng mga doktor ng St. Luke’s na kinabibilangan nina Dr. Samuel Tan, Dr. Marie Tan, Dr, Jerylin Juco, Dr. Andrea Ramos, Dr. Seth Azuelo, Dr. Monica Sindiong, gayundin sina RN (registered nurse) Jero Estal at Ella Uy, patient care navigator sa nasabing ospital.
Malaking bagay para sa isang may karamdaman ang makakita ng malasakit at pagmamahal mula sa mga doktor, nurse at staff ng isang ospital dahil talaga namang nakakagaan ng pakiramdam at nakakabawas ng pag-aalala dahil nakakasiguro ka na ikaw ay aalagaan nang husto.
Mapalad ang St. Luke’s sa pagkakaroon ng mga tauhang gaya ng mga nabanggit ko dahil nakakatulong sila na makagawa ng mabuting reputasyon ang ospital para sa mga naghahanap ng mabuting serbisyo-medikal.
Muli, ang aking taos-pusong pasasalamat at sana, lahat ng doktor, nurse at hospital staff ay kagaya ninyo. Tunay kayong kapuri-puri…
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