We did it.

 We did it, guys! We actually did it! 

Not gonna lie: this week has been tough. Not so much for me (this ain’t my first rodeo) but for my son, who never deserved this.

But just when I was about to lose hope, my phone rang at 11pm last night. It was Secretary Banoy Lopez.

He called not to deflect. Not to defend. But to apologize—and share this milestone memo with me that covers critical changes for every Filipino driver:

• Enforcers can no longer confiscate your license on the spot  

• Deadlines are now working days, not calendar days  

This, my friends, is what good public service looks like. Not press conferences shaming citizens. Not impossible deadlines or arbitrary enforcement. But truly listening to your constituents and maintaining accountability, while using power to fix broken systems instead of protecting them.

It’s been a rocky road to get here, I’ll admit, but somewhere along this way, we came across a few good men, including, but not limited to, former Secretary Vince Dizon who also called and reminded me that people in power are there to serve, not to punish. And Secretary Lopez, who responded immediately—not with defensiveness, but with solutions.

So Kudos to you both. 

But the biggest thanks and praise goes to you, the general public, who supported my son and I as we went through this all. The tens of millions of views were never for me or my son; they were for every driver sick of waiting years for plates, dealing with shakedowns, or facing selective enforcement. Your voices were loud enough that power had no choice but to listen.

To my son Daniel: This was never the lesson I wanted to teach you. I wanted you to learn that following the rules protects you. Instead, you learned something harder but more important:

Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right, even if no one is doing it.

You stood in the fire. You took the criticism. You watched your mistake become national news—not because you ran from it, but because we faced it honestly. That’s character. I’m proud of you.

But here’s what I also want you to remember: There are still good people in government. Don’t paint everyone with the same brush. Secretary Lopez could have circled the wagons. Former Secretary Dizon could have stayed silent. They didn’t. They chose accountability over ego, service over self-preservation. These are the people we need to protect and support—because they’re the cure fighting the disease from the inside. Without them, nothing changes.

To my colleagues in media (not all) who spent this week attacking us: You had a choice. You could have demanded these reforms alongside the public. Instead, you protected the institution that failed and attacked the people asking why. Your hatred for me was bigger than your commitment to the public good. And history will always remember which side you chose when it mattered.

To the LTO and broader government: This memo proves change is possible when institutions choose accountability over ego. Keep going. There’s more work to do.

Final thought: Sometimes doing the right thing means walking the hardest road. Sometimes speaking up makes you a target.

But if walking that road means my son—and millions of other drivers—get a fairer system? Then every attack, every moment of doubt, was worth it.

The system bent. Not because we were right. But because we refused to stay silent when it was wrong.