A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to…

This may sound like an overused cliché’ but a funny thing happened on the way to Manila.

I was riding the new Yamaha Sniper135 along with several other riders from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and some Pinoy riders in the Yamaha Pan ASEAN Touring — Philippine leg. Among the Filipino riders were Aris Ilagan of the Manila Bulletin, Dino Directo III of Manila Standard-Today and actor-turned-politician Gary Estrada and we were en route to Manila from Dau, Pampanga for the final run of the six-country, 15,000-kilometer motorcycle tour.

Initially, our convoy, along with a caravan of support vehicles and a trio of Philippine National Police (PNP) Traffic Management Group (TMG) motorcycle escorts, was supposed to pass through the best roads in the country, the 88-kilometer North Luzon Tollways or NLEX. Norkis Trading Co., the distributor of Yamaha motorcycles and the organizers of the Tour, tried to arrange our legal passage way ahead of time and tried to secure a "Special Permit" with the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC). Since the Tour was part of an ASEAN activity, Norkis-Yamaha got the backing of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP TMG, and even the Department of Tourism (DoT). After all, it was not just a Yamaha promotional activity, Norkis was also helping promote tourism in the country.

With all the government backing and the tourism potential, surely, it would have been justifiable to grant a Special Permit to allow 16 small-displacement motorcycles escorted by cops and backed up by a slew of vehicles to ride through the North Luzon Tollways. But did the MNTC allow the convoy to pass through?

No way.

Apparently, MNTC insisted that there is a law that does not allow motorcycles below 400cc to pass the tollways. Of course, we all know that and that is the reason Norkis-Yamaha was asking for a Special Permit since the Yamaha Sniper’s motor only displaces 135cc. As a motorcyclist who has ridden the Sniper (or T-135, as it is known throughout the Yamaha Asia fraternity) on the highways of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, I can testify that the bike can safely run at the tollway’s speed limit and even exceed it. With a police escort in Malaysia, we were hitting 130kph on the long, smooth highways (not on the motorcycle lanes, mind you) from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru. And with the riding discipline imposed by Yamaha Motor Company (YMC) of Japan, we were able to travel in all these countries without any accident.

With this sterling safety record and the motorcycle’s capabilities, surely, the MNTC will give the Special Permit, we thought.

Ha! Wrong again.

We gathered that MNTC declined due to another reason — they don’t want to set a bad precedent. You see, around April 26 or 27 this year, a group of motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts were also asking MNTC for a permit to traverse the tollways for the 12th Annual Convention of the Federation of Motorcycle Clubs in the Philippines that was held in Ilocos. The riders even sought the help of government bigwigs who were motorcycle enthusiasts just to get the permit for that once-in-a-year event. And of course, the official response was (which now sounds like a broken record) "bikes 400cc and above are the only ones allowed on the NLEX."

Apparently, MNTC doesn’t bow to any government intercession because it is a private company. The impression they give is that the 88-kilometer NLEX is their private domain. And that’s just too bad.

I was once impressed with the MNTC, especially with the planning, the construction, the maintenance and the discipline at the tollways. I was given a royal tour of how the system operates — computers, toll collection and remittance; staff courtesy and automated traffic monitoring and I came out wishing that the government could apply the same system to EDSA and other major thoroughfares.

But after the Touring incident, I realized that the flaw of any system isn’t in the automation or the construction. It’s in the humans managing the system. Unfortunately for the clowns in the MNTC, their inaction allowed us to see that there is life outside of the tollways. The McArthur Highway, with the historic churches and interesting roadside attraction isn’t that bad for touring after all, if you don’t mind a little traffic. In fact, it’s more interesting than a droning 80-100kph romp at the tollways, if you’re not in a hurry. Also, there are a lot more places where you can stop for refreshments or to rest. Besides, our convoy saved a lot of money by not passing through NLEX.

MNTC may have lost some revenue because the 20 bikes and 10 four-wheeled vehicles of the Yamaha Pan ASEAN Touring convoy were not passing for free. They may even have lost some friends in the motorcycle community, in the media and in government. But the most unfortunate loss of all is that they lost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase to the Tour’s ASEAN delegates and foreign media what we, the Filipino riders, have been saying as the best 88-kilometers in the country.

And that’s just too bad.

Here are some of your reactions, comments and questions from last week...

I’m very happy with James Deakin’s column. He’s witty and helpful. — 09178920725

James, your article "Fuel For Thought" is very educational for us, but usage of ethanol can save our country in dollar reserves and help increase our GDP. — 09175405353

James Deakin hit the nail right on the head. Fuel savers don’t do any saving. Check out the US EPA site. — 09178583558

There is a big sign along Katipunan Avenue in front of Ateneo declaring that no tricycles are allowed long that road. Surprise, dami pa rin tricycle! — 09189305239

Is shifting at 2,000 rpm still the most fuel economic way to drive a stick shift? — 09205375161 (It is indeed one of the ways, but there are other things you can do as well like reducing sudden stops and starts and trailing cars that are also running at the ideal speed to reduce wind drag, etc.)

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