Revilla denies being apprehended on EDSA bus lane

APOLOGY ACCEPTED. Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. (left) accepts the apologies of acting Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairperson Romando Artes (center) and Task Force Special Operations chief, retired Col. Edison “Bong” Nebrija (right), after they met the lawmaker at the Senate on Wednesday (Nov. 15, 2023). Revilla said he would no longer push with his plan to recall the MMDA’s 2024 budget after his name was dragged in an apprehension made at the EDSA bus lane. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan via Philippine News Agency/Facebook)

MANILA – Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. on Wednesday categorically denied reports that he was apprehended by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) at the northbound lane of the EDSA carousel busway in Mandaluyong.

In a radio interview, Revilla said there is no way that the vehicle apprehended by the MMDA was his since his daily commute is from the south to the Senate.

“Nandito po ako sa Cavite at sa Cavite ako nakatira. So, papaano po nangyaring napunta ako ng bus way? If ever na pupunta po ako ng Quezon City, ang daan po natin ay dito sa skyway (I’m here at Cavite and I reside in Cavite. So, how would I be in the bus way? If ever I will go to Quezon City, I will pass through the skyway),” he said.

Furthermore, Revilla said he was at his house in Cavite when the reported apprehension happened, following a marathon of budget hearings in the Senate that was concluded at 1 a.m.

The lawmaker added that the MMDA should have issued a ticket to the driver of the flagged vehicle, instead of issuing reports dragging his name and reputation.

“Matindi na ang pinagdaanan ko sa buhay. Nakulong na ako nang napakatagal, tapos naglilinis tayo ng pangalan natin. Tapos sisirain tayo ng walang kakwenta-kwentang ganito na kasinungalingan na naman (I have been through a lot in life. I was jailed for a long time and I am trying to clear my name. Then we will be discredited with this nonsense kind of lies),” Revilla said.

Revilla said he would not accept the apology of MMDA’s Task Force Special Operations chief Ret. Col. Edison Nebrija who admitted during an interview at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay that he was not personally present at the time of apprehension

“I made the decision to let it go based on the information that was given to me by the enforcer,” Nebrija said.

Revilla said he would push for the recall of the proposed 2024 budget of the MMDA to let Nebrija and the concerned enforcer explain what happened.

MMDA’s proposed budget, along with the Department of Budget and Management and its attached agencies, already passed the Senate plenary debates and was deemed submitted for consideration last November 8.

MMDA suspends Nebrija after personal apology to Revilla

In a succeeding development, the MMDA placed Nebrija under preventive suspension pending the results of an investigation.

Acting MMDA Chairperson Romando “Don” Artes announced in an impromptu press briefing after he and Nebrija went to the Senate to personally apologize to Revilla.

“Ang preventive suspension po ay para magkaroon ng malayang imbestigasyon itong kaso. Wala naman pong basis eh except yung pagkakamali ni Col. Bong na nasabi niyang si Senator Revilla yung nakasakay (sa nahuling sasakyan) when the truth and in fact, hindi naman pala totoo (This preventive suspension is for us to have a free investigation in this case. There is no basis except for the mistake made by Col. Bong [Nebrija] when he said that Senator Revilla was aboard the apprehended vehicle when the truth and in fact, it is not true),” Artes said.

The MMDA chair said the preventive suspension starts on Thursday.

Revilla accepted their apologies, announcing that he would no longer seek a recall of the MMDA’s budget in the Senate.

He said he was just hot-tempered when he made the statement earlier denying the report and saying he would push for the recall of the MMDA’s budget.

“Hindi sa kasalanan ng isa, dalawa, o tatlong tao para i-recall natin o pahirapan ang buong MMDA (It is not because of the mistake of one, two, or three people that we should recall [the budget] or let the entire MMDA suffer),” he said.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning when an MMDA officer stopped a white SUV with a plate number “8” along the EDSA Mandaluyong bus carousel lane.

The apprehending officer claimed to have seen Revilla and reported the situation to Nebrija, who allowed the vehicle to be let through.

Revilla said he understands how difficult Nebrija’s job is but cited the incident as a “wake-up call.”

He said if it was he who was apprehended, he would have admitted it and would be willing to face the penalties.

“Masakit kasi yun. I’m sure dito sa mga pangyayaring ito, meron pa ring mga mamba-bash sa amin, and that is so unfair dahil tayo ay sumusunod sa batas trapiko (It hurts. I’m sure that with this incident, some people would still bash us, and that is so unfair because we follow traffic rules),” Revilla said.