"Bonnie."

That's the name Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic czar Edison Bong Nebrija used to endearingly refer to Riders’ Safety Advocates of the Philippines (RSAP) founder and retired police colonel Bonifacio Bosita in a Facebook post Saturday, March 13.

The two social media stars of the motoring world have been locked in an online debate, which stemmed from the supposed wrongful apprehension of a motorcycle-riding couple along EDSA last March 5 by an MMDA traffic enforcer.

The supposed violation was that the back-rider wore slippers instead of shoes. Bosita has sided with the couple, insisting that the “shoe only” rule on motorcycle riders applies only to the main rider and not the back-rider.

On the other hand, Nebrija has criticized the reiterated police colonel for interfering with the MMDA enforcer’s duties, to the point of making the enforcer compensate the back-rider for her lost wage that day (P500) despite having no legal authority to do so.

"Ayaw mo na ng proseso at sinasabi mong short cut na lang, maaaring maganda sa tingin ng tao pero labag ito sa batas (You no longer want to observe due process and just prefer shortcuts. This may be popular, but it is against the law)," he said.

Nebrija's March 13 post was less angry than his previous rants, but he revealed a time two years when he and Bosita saw eye to eye. The MMDA traffic disciplinarian then asked "Bonnie" what changed him as they are obviously no longer on the same page.

"Ito yung kuha namin ng 07 March 2019. Dumulog si Bonnie sa tanggapan namin para hilingin na itigil ang panghuhuli ng naka shorts at wala ito sa AO (administrative order). Hindi inabot ng kalahating araw pinabago ni GM (General Manager) Jojo Garcia ang panghuhuli at pinagbigay alam sa publiko ang pagtitigil ng panghuhuli ng nakashorts na rider. Hindi matagal ang proseso kung sa tamang pamamaraan natin idadaan (This was our picture taken on 07 March 2019. Bonnie sought help from our office to stop the apprehension of riders who were wearing shorts, since it wasn't stated in the AO. In less than a day, GM Jojo Garcia revised it and told the public that shorts-wearing riders would no longer be apprehended. The correct process is not a lengthy process)," he said.

"Ang tanong ko Bonnie anong nangyari at kailangan mo pang pahiyain ang aming enforcers at ahensya? Masama ang loob ko kasi tinuring ka naming kakampi at kasangga sa usaping kaligtasan ng mga riders (My question to you Bonnie is, what happened and made you need to embarrass our enforcers and our agency? It pains me because I considered you an ally on the issue of drivers' safety)," Nebrija said.

"Bakit ngayon ayaw mo na ng proseso? Bakit ngayon ang sinasabi mo short cut na lang? Anong nagbago Bonnie, bakit ka nagbago? (Why don't you like due process now? Why do say now that you'd rather do short cuts? What changed Bonnie, why did you change?)" he further asked.

Nebrija went on to acknowledge the huge fan base that the RSAP leader has, and how this could have dangerous implications if the latter doesn't change his ways.

"Ang nakakatakot nito maraming sumusubaybay at naniniwala sayo, lahat ng pinapakita at sinasabi mo ay parang batas na sa kanila, maging responsable tayo bilang pinuno (What's frightening is that a lot of people follow and believe in you, everything that you do and utter is the law to them, let's be responsible leaders)," the MMDA official said.