Having a "padrino" won't necessarily help you avoid getting a traffic violation ticket, especially if the one who apprehended you was Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic czar Edison Bong Nebrija.

Nebrija shared on Tuesday, June 22 a story about a motorist whose sports utility vehicle (SUV) was cited for illegal parking. "The owner told us she would call somebody to settle the problem," he wrote, implying that the woman was going to contact someone with power.

"I was surprised that after talking over the phone she said 'Ticketan nyo na lang ako (Just give me a ticket).' So we did," the MMDA official said.

Nebrija would later learn that the person the woman called was a common friend.

"He told me he knew the owner. That the owner called him to help her out but he asked, 'Sino ba nandyan?'....'Si Bong Nebrija.' .....'Paticket ka na lang (Who apprehended you? ....Bong Nebrija did......Just have yourself ticketed),'" Nebrija narrated.

"I thank my friends for appreciating my job and would never use our friendship get in the way of my work and would never allow me or my team to be in any compromising situation," said EDSA's top traffic disciplinarian.

As tough and strict as Nebirja is, he isn't all stone. In the same Facebook post, he admitted to offering to pay for the fine of a traffic violator, who turned out to be his friend.

Just like the woman with the SUV, that friend also tried to avoid getting a ticket at first. But Nebrija would have none of it, even if the violation was as simple as encroaching on the bicycle lane.

Indeed, the ticket is sacred--especially to traffic enforcers who know that they are right.