MMDA honors traffic enforcer who sells rice cakes

MMDA enforcer. Photo courtesy of MMDA’s official Facebook page.

MANILA – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) recently commended a traffic enforcer whose photos have gone viral on social media.

Fernando Gonzales was seen selling native rice cakes to motorists along EDSA.

While some people criticized him because he was selling during work hours, other people praised him for finding an honest way of earning more money instead of resorting to extortion. Gonzales only earns 15,000 a month which he claims barely enough to send his children to school.

“Sometimes, whenever they ask money from me, I really don’t know what to do that’s why I decided to look for other ways how to earn,” said Gonzales. “My wife gave me the idea because she said that she knows how to cook rice cakes.”

He added, “It really pains me whenever I’m not able to provide for them and whenever I tell them that we’ll have to borrow. As a father, I need to find ways how I can provide for them.”

Gonzales also noted that he purposely avoid situations wherein he needs to use his position to ask money from motorists.