Did Riders’ Safety Advocates of the Philippines (RSAP) founder Bonifacio Bosita take a dig at anyone in particular with his latest Facebook post?
On Thursday, April 15, the retired police colonel-turned-Youtuber wrote a post on what he described were the two common things riders hear from the police officer or traffic enforcer who apprehended them whenever the former ask or argue about their violations.
"1. Arogante ka ah, gusto mo bang dagdagan ko ang violation mo? 2. Kung may reklamo ka, i-contest mo na lang sa opisina! (You're arrogant, you want me to add to your violation? 2. If you have a complaint, then go to our office and contest it!)" enumerated Bosita.
"'Yan ang masakit na katotohanang dinadanas ng marami sa mga ordinaryong motorista na kailangang bigyan ng atensyon ng mga kinauukulan (That’s the cruel truth that many of our ordinary motorists go through and thus should be addressed by officials)," he noted.
While Bosita didn't namedrop anybody, item no.2 sounds very similar to the sentiments of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic czar Edison Bong Nebrija amid the viral "slippers controversy".
This refers to the apprehension and subsequent ticketing of a female back-rider of a motorcycle by an MMDA traffic enforcer in EDSA over a month ago. The supposed violation was that the back-rider wore slippers instead of shoes.
Long story short, Bosita responded to the scene (after being called by the back-rider and her husband), lectured the enforcer of his wrongful apprehension and told him to pay the female supermarket employee P500 as compensation for her lost wage that day.
These acts--all caught on video--irked Nebrija, who said that the traffic violation should have instead been contested via adjudication at the MMDA office in Makati City. Is it only proper to observe "due process", he said.
But the popular Bosita has been vocal about his problem with this kind of due process. He contended that while it's possible the rider or driver can overturn a violation, he or she will have lost precious time and resources in pursuing the adjudication.
Worse, Bosita claimed that enforcers who have been proven to commit apprehension errors never get penalized anyway.
"Kapag mali ang huli ng pulis o ng enforcer sa rider o driver, para na rin nitong 'ina-agawan mg pagkain sa plato ang pamilya ng kanilang biktima' (If a police or enforcer erroneously apprehends a rider or driver, then it's almost as if food is being taken away from the victims' family)," he said in a quote card that accompanied the Facebook post.
The post has garnered over 21,000 likes and 4.4 heart reactions.