Excuse #2247 when stopped by MMDA

It was a smooth drive from Makati Shangrila to the office this afternoon with MP on the driver's seat. Such is the benefit of being a Senior Manager, having one of your engineers drive for you.

The end of our ride was to exit EDSA just before the Ortigas flyover so that we enter Galleria. We were about 20meters from the make-shift partition between the flyover and the underpass when we were signaled by 1 MMDA enforcer to pull over.

MMDA: "Swerving kayo."

MP has never been the one to back down in an argument.

MP: "Pano ako naging swerving ser? Eh 15meters to the exit ako lumiko! Yung bus na nag-cut sakin yun dapat hulihin nyo ng swerving!"

MMDA: "Hindi 15meters. 50 meters."

MP: "Eh nung hinuli ako dati dito ng mga kasamahan nyo sabi nila 15 meters dapat. Tinuro pa nga nya sakin"

MMDA: "Mali sila"

MP: "Sige ser (trying to remove his seatbelt). Ituro nyo nga sakin san yung 50 meters."

Of course I stopped MP from doing so since I believed it will worsen his case.

MMDA: (with hand stretched) "Patingin nga ng lisensya mo"

MP obliged but still grumbling. I signaled him to calm down.

MMDA: (seeing MP's license) "Pampanga ka pa pala nauwi"

As if a big light-bulb went off in my head. A-ha! It's time to use the skills of my youngest sister (who btw has been flagged by the MMDA/MAPSA/you-name-it but has NEVER been issued a ticket due to her craftiness in coming up with excuses).

ME: "Eh ser, ibababa lang naman muna kami dyan (pointing to Galleria) tapos didiretso pa sya ng Pampanga"

MMDA: "Ganun ba?"

I whispered to MP to just apologize and say sorry.

MP: "Sorry po ser."

MMDA: (giving back MP's license) "Basta sa susunod ha...blah blah..."

MP: "Ok po ser."

It was a good thing MP's license indicated Pampanga as his home address. Otherwise, I'll bet that a ticket would've been issued.

I searched the MMDA website for the list of traffic offenses and tried to look for SWERVING. Nothing found. Perhaps that email going around sometime back is true:

Swerving is NOT an offense.