My Christmas Wishes

It may sound foreign to us Filipinos, but there has been a tradition to make wishes during this festive season of giving. No, it’s not the one where children wish for gifts from Santa Claus, but it’s the one where all men (and women) wish one another goodwill and good cheer. This tradition has been repeatedly mentioned in Christmas songs and carols, and as a tribute to this tradition, please allow me to list down my wishes for the motoring community and to our countrymen in general this Yuletide season.

I wish that public servants would actually serve the public that they swore to serve. Like the doomsday soothsayers who admonish people to “repent because the end of the world is here”, I’d like to admonish our government officials, administrators and employees, who are all public servants, to repent because there are signs showing that the Filipino people, who are the public that they swore to serve, are getting fed up with them. With the impending financial crisis hounding the rest of the world, it’s only a matter of time before the public would like an accounting of where their money went. Officials who are used to spending the public’s money for his or her extravagant lifestyle will soon find themselves in the crosshairs of some legitimate cause-oriented groups that may go on a witch hunt for the “big fishes” who make it a habit of spending public funds for their personal benefit. Don’t kid yourself, corrupt officials, nothing lasts forever. If the disgruntled public won’t burn you alive, you’ll burn in hell, anyway. Enjoy your ill-gotten wealth and power while it lasts. Who knows? This may be your last Christmas.

I wish that somebody would wake up MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando from his state of delusion. One of these days, BF will find himself facing a lawsuit for “politicking” because he has been campaigning for the 2010 presidential elections way ahead of the time allowed by law. We’ve seen his MMDA streamers and tarpaulins as far as Bataan and Nueva Ecija in the north and as far as Bicol and Cebu in the south, which are areas NOT covered by the MMDA. His MMDA TV and radio shows are nothing but propaganda to make him look good before the public while the MMDA commercials that end with “brought to you by Chairman Bayani” are examples of using public funds for blatant political and personal promotion. Perhaps, a good-meaning congressman or another presidential aspirant in the Senate or somebody in the Comelec should wake up BF and remind him of the election laws he has been violating. He should also be reminded of the international traffic laws he has chosen not to comply with by implementing his brand of traffic enforcement and his pink-and-blue traffic signs. Somebody should tell him that he’s not as effective as he thinks he is or as he’s led to believe. He should just look outside the MMDA office in Guadalupe – the bus lane he implemented in front of the Loyola Chapels is choking traffic from the Ortigas flyover to the Shaw Boulevard Crossing up to Guadalupe while his MMDA enforcers are doing nothing but waving these traffic-blocking buses along. There are still a whole lot of things he hasn’t done to fix the traffic mess in Metro Manila alone. Now, if he believes he can run the entire country like he did the MMDA, he’s going to be in for a big surprise – a lot of people, a big majority of the public, don’t want him to. Unless, of course, he’s part of a grander plot to create a smoke screen that would change the Constitution and perpetuate the current administration in power. Oh, heaven forbid!

I wish the LTO would flex its muscles and become the Traffic Czar that it was designed to be. The LTO, by its name and function, is the land transportation office. It should be in charge of anything and everything pertaining to land travel, including traffic management in key metropolitan areas. The MMDA has not done the function it was created for, which is to become the authority in developing Metro Manila. It has become an office for despots who act like the Governor of Metro Manila without the elected authority of the people and without the accountability to the people. Let’s go back to the days before the MMDA when the PNP mobile and motorcycle units help the LTO in enforcing traffic laws. Let’s have the PNP do what they do best – to police not only criminal and other illegal activities but traffic and environmental concerns as well. Let’s also go back to the days when government officials, congressmen and senators drive themselves to work instead of being driven around in a convoy of motorcycle cops and armed goons. Let’s rescind the number 8 plate privilege of all congressmen so that they can stop abusing it. Hey, Mr. (or Ms.) Congressman, your real bosses are the Filipino people, especially your constituents, and you should be accountable for all the pork barrel that goes through your greedy hands. If the LTO should check on your driver, your staff, your cohorts or your family members (or you, if you can still drive yourself) and all your abuses on the road, you should never threaten LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Alberto Suansing by asking the President to replace him. We’re tired of sitting in heavy traffic only to be bullied aside by your blaring sirens and your police escorts so that you @$$holes can pass with an armed convoy where the vehicles you and your goons are riding in were bought with the taxpayer’s money. Same goes to the equally abusive government officials. Do you think you’re exempt from the traffic laws? Shame on you!

I wish for a more efficient public transportation system and for the phase-out of jeepneys and the reduction of buses in key metropolitan areas. Unless you’re blind, deaf and dumb all at the same time, those unruly, undisciplined jeepney and bus drivers are, without a doubt, the Number One cause of traffic anarchy in the city with their street terminals, load-and-unload-anywhere-we-please attitude and we’re-dirt-poor-so-we-don’t-give-a-damn-if-we-cause-traffic mentality. Their vehicle’s lack of pollution control equipment is an affront to the supposed Clean Air Act of 1999 and these PUVs are the worst contributors to the proliferation of green house gases. When are we going to wake up and smell the air we breathe? When are we going to discipline these morons who think that just because they’re part of the working class who don’t pay taxes that they’re allowed to go against the flow of traffic, to run though red lights, to drive at night without headlights and to just wantonly violate all known traffic laws? When are the authorities going to apprehend jeepney and bus operators who willingly and knowingly field their vehicles even if these do not conform to safety, environmental and hygienic standards that are provided for by law? When is the public going to learn that these unregulated jeepneys and buses are part of the reason why our country is still stuck in the Neanderthal Age while some of our ASEAN neighbors are well ahead into the 21st century? When will we realize that the pollution these vehicles are creating in the environment and in the mindset of the commuting public is slowly killing our children and the future generation of law-abiding Filipinos?

I wish that motorcyclists would really unite to show their actual strength. I know that many road users would rather see unruly motorcyclists crash than cheer for them, but the evidence is compelling – there are now almost 4 million motorcyclists around the country and their number is still growing! Seasoned politicians are beginning to see the possibilities and are courting motorbike clubs to get their support for the 2010 elections. Some wannabes are even using bike clubs to garner enough warm bodies to make a political party, ala party list. But before these bike clubs get exploited, I wish they would realize the tremendous power they have in their hands if only they can stand, or in their case, ride united. The Luzon Motorcyclists Federation (LMFI), headed by its president, avid biker and DOTC Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Berroya, should be commended of coming up with the theme “One Philippines” as their motto for the 15th National Bike Convention to be held in May 2009 at Baguio City. Asst. Sec. Berroya is hopeful that by showing solidarity among bike clubs whether they’re riding big bikes, scooters, underbone commuters, or off-road bikes, their unity would espouse cooperation between clubs and agencies so that rider education can be prioritized. This, in turn, would create awareness for road safety among riders, which could lower the rising death rate among bikers. Like the saying “In unity, there is strength”, the LMFI is likewise hoping that by becoming united, club officers can police their own ranks and in doing so, majority of the motorcyclists will be compelled to toe the line in following any and all rules, including the often-neglected-and-seldom-respected traffic rules. By showing their strength, new laws can be created and enacted to espouse safe riding practices, which can make the motorcycle industry grow even faster and help the national economy during these trying times. After all, 4 million bikers and their immediate families equal almost 20 million consumers and voters, which is nearly a quarter of our country’s population of 91 million. Four million motorcycles also mean 8 million tires, 4 million batteries, and several million motorcycle parts, 16 million liters of motor oil and around 600 million liters of fuel each year. Do the math. The motorcycle industry is already a multi-billion peso industry. Motorcyclists and their bikes are big business. It’s time that they act as one.

Now, for my final wish, I wish you could all stop snickering at me for making these wishes because I know that deep inside, some of these are your wishes, too. God has been good to me and my family and I believe that He grants wishes if these are for the good of all His creation. After all, we are all God’s children, including those who have strayed from God’s light. (Yes, Virginia, even those corrupt government officials and elected politicians are God’s children. Sigh…) So brethren, here’s wishing you goodwill, good health and good cheers this Yuletide Season and throughout the year. Merry Christmas!

Speak out, be heard and keep those text messages coming in. To say your piece and become a “Backseat Driver”, text PHILSTAR<space>FB<space>MOTORING<space>YOUR MESSAGE and send to 2840 if you’re a Globe or Touch Mobile subscriber or 334 if you’re a Smart or Talk ’n Text subscriber or 2840 if you’re a Sun Cellular subscriber. Please keep your messages down to a manageable 160 characters. You may send a series of comments using the same parameters.)