Nebrija suspended after tiff with Revilla  

MANILA, Philippines — A Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) official was suspended yesterday for claiming that Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla was apprehended for using the EDSA Bus Carousel in Mandaluyong yesterday.

The suspension of MMDA Task Force Special Operations Unit head (TFSOU) Edison “Bong” Nebrija was announced as he and acting MMDA Chairman Romando Artes went to the Senate yesterday afternoon to apologize to the senator.

Revilla said he accepted Nebrija’s apology, calling the claim “maling paratang (false allegation).”

“I hope you understand my reaction to the incident. If you put yourself in my place, you will react the same,” the senator added.

Revilla had denied that he was apprehended using the busway, saying the would ask the MMDA to explain the “malicious” report.

The senator said his daily commute is from the south to the Senate “and there is no possibility I would be on EDSA in Mandaluyong. When attending to official functions in the north, I take the Skyway from and back to the south.”

“If it’s true that they saw someone using my name, they should have done their job and ticketed the violator,” Revilla said.

Artes told Revilla that Nebrija would be suspended for 15 to 30 days starting today to allow for an investigation into the incident.

The MMDA chief said the agency will review closed-circuit television footage of the incident.

Revilla said he would leave Nebrija’s fate to Artes.

“I just want them to clarify the information (about the EDSA Bus Carousel incident),” Revilla said.

Artes said that Nebrija and MMDA-TFSOU personnel were supervising the bus carousel when he received a radio message from an enforcer detailed in the Mandaluyong area.

Namedropping?

According to Artes, a traffic enforcer radioed Nebrija about having apprehended a vehicle with a “7” protocol plate, assigned to senators, for using the busway. The driver told the enforcer that his passenger was Revilla, the MMDA chief said.

Artes said Nebrija’s mistake was to instruct the enforcer to refrain from issuing a traffic violation ticket and allow Revilla’s convoy to pass through the busway.

Nebrija said during yesterday’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum that he gave the instruction “out of courtesy for the convoy, which was in rush. It was a judgment call on my part.” He noted that senators could be engaged in a lot of meetings.

“I even joked, ‘he’s my idol,’ I will let him go,” he added.

Nebrija insisted that the driver or anyone in the convoy could have “namedropped” Revilla to be able to escape apprehension and paying fines ranging from P5,000 to P30,000 as well as having their driver’s license canceled.

Nebrija said his team took photos of the vehicles included in Revilla’s alleged convoy but the enforcer concerned has yet to create a report of the incident.

Artes said the investigation will cover who leaked the information on the incident and the identity of the driver who dropped Revilla’s name.

Who may use EDSA Bus Carousel?

Artes said only three types of vehicles are allowed to use the EDSA Bus Carousel: buses, emergency vehicles and marked government vehicles.

“They extended it upon our recommendation to include the convoy of the President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice,” he said.

“We are discussing if we will allow vehicles with protocol plates 6, 7 and 8,”Artes added.

The protocol plate “6” is issued to Cabinet officials and department secretaries, while “7” is for senators and “8” is for members of the House of Representatives.

Artes said there is a need to study the impact and implications of allowing vehicles with these protocol plates to use the busway, “specially for over 300 congressmen. The purpose of the EDSA Bus Carousel is to move people, not just one vehicle with one passenger.”

Revilla initially threatened to recall the MMDA’s budget for 2024, which was earlier approved and referred to the plenary. He later said that one person’s fault should not affect the agency’s budget.