Pursuant to the MMDA’s mandate to come out with a single ticketing system for traffic violations, Fernando is coming out with one of his own rubber-stamped by other agencies. However, the move will definitely be used by Fernando to justify the continued apprehension of traffic violators and, naturally, collection hundreds of millions of pesos in fines from erring motorists by MMDA traffic enforcers.

The MMDA continues to do this despite the fact that it has been told by the Supreme Court that it cannot make ordinances and resolutions nor can it enforce laws such as apprehending traffic violators and meting fines. It is beyond Fernando’s comprehension to follow the rulings of the highest court in the land and he chooses to play blind. It would have been far better to comply with the law by coming up with a single ticketing system by coordinating a single violation and fine matrix from all the Metro Manila cities and municipalities but leaving the apprehension to them. In that way, both the mandate of the MMDA’s charter as well as interpretation of its spirit would have been satisfied.

Better yet, if Fernando is so obsessed with a single ticketing system, why not devise one involving tickets paid by bus passengers wherein they have to pay their fare using a single ticket acceptable within any bus line on any route? If the MMDA will spearhead such a scheme and devise it in such a way that it becomes acceptable and convenient to the riding public, imagine the good it can do. Say goodbye, for starters, to the thousands of "colorum" buses that are not only a major source of traffic congestion but are generally dilapidated and whose drivers have the worst roadside manners.

But that idea is doomed right from the start, I believe. Like the first ticketing system, it will also cost the MMDA a lot of money in terms of lost traffic tickets and fines. Not to mention the fact that some high-ranking officials make a lot of protection money from buses plying Metro Manila roads, both legitimate and otherwise.

Fernando’s idea of running the metropolis are at the same level as the blunder made by one administration senator who tried to purchase the P40 million penthouse of a classy condominium along Roxas Boulevard in cold cash. I am not sure if the deal fell through because somewhere along the way he tried to make arrangements to have the property placed under a fictitious name. It seemed the guy suddenly remembered the need to preclude the possibility of explaining how he got such a princely sum, which would scandalize even the most hypocritical official of this administration. Our cash-rich senator obviously does not want to be the quarry of a legal investigation having been intimate with the term prior to being a member of the Senate.

I cannot blame this senator though since things are not looking good for the Strong Republic even if 2010 is still far away. If it is any indication, one ranking executive of the Strong Republic recently visited a European country. Although, it was an official trip, the unofficial purposes of the sojourn included making discreet inquiries about the possibility of retiring there after 2010. I can almost imagine her screaming "Benaki to-dits!" to the hired help once she retires from government affairs and if her plans push through. It also makes me wonder if we have an extradition treaty with this European country so we can bring her back to answer for what she has done as part of the Planet Plunder Pack going about governance through graft and gimmickry. If you do not believe that, wait until a notorious mining company gets re-opened because grease money has already changed hands.