Bonifacio Laqui Bosita (born November 30, 1966) is a Filipino motorcycle rights activist and retired police officer. He is currently serving as representative for the 1-Rider Partylist in the House of Representatives.
Bonifacio Bosita | |||||||
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| Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for 1-Rider Partylist | |||||||
| Assumed office June 30, 2022 Serving with Rodge Gutierrez | |||||||
| Personal details | |||||||
| Born | November 30, 1966 Lucena, Quezon, Philippines[1] | ||||||
| Spouse | Aida Mauzar | ||||||
| Alma mater | (BS Civil Engineering, 1988) | ||||||
| Occupation | Police officer (former), motorcycle rights activist | ||||||
| Police career | |||||||
| Service | Philippine National Police | ||||||
| Allegiance | Philippines | ||||||
| Divisions | Highway Patrol Group | ||||||
| Rank |  Police Lieutenant Colonel | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2019–present | ||||||
| Genre | Vlog | ||||||
| Subscribers | 519 thousand[2] | ||||||
| Total views | 22.7 million[2] | ||||||
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Last updated: May 29, 2022 | |||||||
Police career
editBosita was a former police officer who was part of the Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP).[3] He was also the Public Information Office Chief of the Cavite office of the PNP.[4]
Riders' Safety Advocates of the Philippines
editBosita is the founder of the Riders' Safety Advocates of the Philippines (RSAP), a group for riders and motorists.[5]
2021 slipper case
editBosita came into public attention in March 2021, when he was featured in a viral video where he disputed a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic enforcer's action of filing a ticket against a couple driving in tandem on a motorcycle for breaking a shoes-only policy – while the driver was wearing shoes the backseat woman passenger was penalized for wearing slippers causing her to miss a day of work. Bosita believing that the policy should only apply to the driver made the enforcer pay a day's worth of the backseat passenger's salary (around ₱500). This led to MMDA traffic czar Edison Bong Nebrija to respond alleging Bosita of exploiting traffic enforcers for political gain.[6]
In February 2022, Bosita was arrested in Surigao del Sur in connection with the March 2021 incident after charges of grave coercion and usurpation of authority was filed against him by Nebrija. He posted bail on both charges.[3]
Online presence
editBosita runs a YouTube channel as part of his work for RSAP under the name "Colonel Bosita, RSAP".[5] Bosita received a silver play button in April 2021 since his channel already had 348 thousand subscribers at that time, way past the minimum of 100 thousand subscribers.[5] He has also a following on Facebook having 800 thousand followers as of May 2022.[7]
Political career
editFollowing the March 2021 incident, Bosita decided to enter politics initially planning to run for senator. His group partnered with Bicol-based motorcycle club 1-Rider which made a bid to get partylist representation in the Philippines House of Representatives. Bosita was named second nominee of the group, although he was significantly involved in 1-Rider's campaign often appearing in videos and other election paraphernalia.[8] 1-Rider was able to garner enough votes to secure two seats which were filled in by Rodge Gutierrez and Bosita himself.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Certificate of Candidacy for Senator - Bonifacio Laqui Bosita" (PDF). Commission on Election. October 4, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ a b "About Colonel Bosita, RSAP". YouTube.
- ^ a b Cantos, Joy (February 5, 2022). "Colonel, inaresto sa kontrobersyal na 'tsinelas'" [Colonel, arrested for controversial "slippers" (case)]. Pilipino Star Ngayon (in Filipino). The Philippine Star. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ "San Juan is new Trece Martires police chief". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c Quismorio, Ellson (April 7, 2021). "Achievement unlocked! RSAP's Bosita shows off YouTube 'Silver Creator Award'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ "'Mag-apply ka sa MMDA': Nebrija blasts riders' group leader Bosita over trending 'Shoe-gate'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Quismorio, Ellson (May 11, 2022). "Bosita, starter of 'tsinelas' traffic issue, en route to House seat". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Fuentes, Art (May 26, 2022). "1-Rider Party-list: Motorcyclists rev up seats at the legislative table". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ Noriega, Richa (May 26, 2022). "Comelec proclaims 55 winning party-list groups in Eleksyon 2022". GMA News. Retrieved May 29, 2022.