Manny Pacquiao Shows Us How

By now, Manny "The Pacman" Pacquiao’s victory over Erik "El Terrible" Morales must have spun a few hundred stories from sports writers, newsmen and columnists. After all, Manny had just given us Filipinos another reason to be proud after he had pounded El Terrible into submission in the 10th round of their much-awaited12-round grudge match. And this time, no high-level diplomat can claim that we Filipinos cheated or he would have to face Manny’s fists.

Quinito Henson, one of the sports commentators who covered the bout live, was visibly and audibly proud of Manny during the fight, as I guess most of our compatriots are. He was commenting on air how The Pacman trained hard for the fight; how he stuck to his fight plan, maneuvering around El Terrible so he would never get caught in the ropes; how he concentrated on the fight, battering his opponent’s body before going for headshots, and how fresh he looked during the last few rounds compared to the tired, panting hunk that was Erik Morales. Watching the boxing match on cable TV, I was so proud that Manny Pacquiao kept saying that he dedicated this victory not for his personal pride nor his family’s, but for the Filipino people.

The only thing that I felt spoiled the otherwise gorgeous day for the Philippines was the after-fight appearance of you-know-who and several politicos who went into the ring and on camera to congratulate the victorious fighter. That and when the President called Manny to congratulate him in her usual, monotonous, unexcitable "taray" voice through her husband’s mobile phone (on the speaker phone, he announced). Sorry, no offence meant to Madame President and the gentlemen-politicians who flew to America to watch the fight, but I can’t help but feel that they were there only to promote their political careers and not just to support Pacquiao. Why couldn’t they just wait for him to come home and congratulate him in Malacanang? Would they have shown their faces or would Ate Glo call "by speaker phone" after the fight had he lost? And if we may ask, who paid for their airfare and accommodations to go to Las Vegas? Were our taxes used again for their own personal benefit instead of projects that would benefit (and I mean really benefit) the public? Of course, we’ll never really know.

At the risk of sounding like those politicos, riding on the victorious bout to further a personal or political agenda, I will use Manny Pacquiao’s win as an analogy on how we can beat the traffic chaos that is plaguing our country.

Manny Pacquiao won because he trained hard for the fight. If the government is serious in its efforts to lick the perennial traffic problem, it should look for a person or an entity that is willing to go the distance, train for the long fight ahead and be steadfastly resolute in accomplishing his goal of traffic management. The traffic czar should be well-educated regarding international traffic laws, strong-willed and must be willing to drive around by himself without police escorts, along the streets of the most congested urban areas. Only through this training can one come up with a comprehensive and effective traffic system. His subordinates, including the traffic officers and enforcers who will man the streets 24 hours a day/7 days a week, should follow his example and also be continuously educated and trained so that they will have the moral authority and the knowledge to accost or apprehend erring drivers.

Manny Pacquiao won because he stuck to his fight plan. To solve the traffic congestion once and for all, our authorities should first have a fight plan and a comprehensive one at that. They should scrap that singular idiotic idea that traffic congestion is caused primarily by the increase of vehicle population. After all, our annual vehicle sales is way below our ASEAN neighbors and our real traffic problem is the general lack of driver education and discipline resulting from ineffective traffic laws and lax traffic law enforcement, which is the result of the confusion on who really should enforce traffic laws. If the MMDA has its own plan, and the LGUs have their own interpretations and the LTO or the TMG has another, then that is no fight plan at all. That is the reason why El Terrible Traffico will always beat us against the ropes. To win, the government must come up with a strong and authoritative governing body that will conjure a comprehensive long-term traffic plan and concentrate exclusively on patrolling and maintaining our roads and highways 24/7. The plan should also include the formalization of the personnel’s income structures so that traffic enforcement can be professionalized and becoming a traffic enforcer can be considered a true profession.

Manny Pacquiao won because he concentrated on the fight. Our authorities could never beat the traffic because they’re not really concentrating on the solution. They’re just working on a short-term temporary fix, at best, or a way to line their pockets with money or attain personal glory, at worst. With the sheer number of antiquated traffic laws and the idiotic new city ordinances being passed by different city councils separately and without coordination, we will continue to get stuck in traffic and watch our vehicle’s fuel needle go down needlessly while those clowns at city hall and congress are having their way and slicing through traffic with their police escorts whenever they need to travel to another spot in our congested metropolis. For once, gentlemen, please do your jobs (yes, the job that you SWORE to do) and concentrate on finding a long-term solution. We are lagging way, way behind our ASEAN neighbors and it is becoming pathetic.

And like Manny Pacquiao, the people in government, from the President to the department secretaries, senators, congressmen and bureau chiefs down to the clerks and the cops on the beat should do their jobs not just for their own benefit or their families’, but for the general welfare of the Filipino people. Unlike Manny though, these public servants won’t be paid in the millions (with the exemption of some corrupt ones) but at least they did not have to beat up somebody or get beaten up to get a fat paycheck. We have forgotten our sense of service to the nation in this time of individualism and greed.

One of our readers once responded that I should be in the shoes of our elected officials to see how difficult it really is to implement changes in government before I make seemingly Quixotic suggestions to improve our lot. In a sense, he may be right because I don’t work for a government agency, but my father and late grandfather used to. And if you really think about it, as taxpayers we pay them to work for us and we haven’t gotten our money’s worth, so we have a right to suggest changes. If only the leadership has the determination and the strong political will to actually implement real, effective and lasting changes, then everything else will naturally follow.

Finally, like in a boxing match, we need not be the boxer inside the ring to share in his victory when he wins or share in his agony if he loses. In last Sunday’s fight, we shared in The Pacman’s triumph and the victory was made even sweeter because Manny dedicated it to us, the Filipinos. His victory may not last forever but, at least, it taught us something. Manny Pacquiao showed us that we can accomplish anything we want to do if we put our hearts and minds to it. And in his case, his fists, too.

Okay, before anyone else gets too hot from that politically charged opinion piece, here are some of your concerns from last week that we hope we can help address.

I was reading "A Fuel-Efficient SUV?" but you did not mention the price of the Kia Sorento. — 09178587126 (We asked Lester to help us find out and he texted us this message: 1.250M for the LX automatic, 1.350M for the EX and 1.475 and 1.495 for the special sedition variants.)

Taking a second look at LPG article. Could have been more informative if it had stated where I could get the conversion kit and have it installed. — 09198341297 (You may call the Petron Gasul trunkline at 671-9817 for inquiries.)

I am scouting for an SUV. A friend told me not to buy an Isuzu Trooper. There’s a 2003 model in their shop that they’re still fixing. The owner brought it to them last September 2005. — 09155480087 (We are currently working on putting together a series where we comparatively test brand new and used vehicles of the same make to ascertain their long-term performance. Watch out for that.)

Our mayors are generous enough to legalize pedicabs to provide labor but they forget to give them plates which is necessary since they are also public utility vehicles. — 09177906058

It’s a new year yet still no concrete action on diagonally parked jeepneys blocking half of Masaya Street in U.P. Village, QC near TUCP compound. — 09189304560 (Man, we do admire your persistence. Kinda reminds us of one Manny Pacquiao who showed us that we can accomplish anything we want to do if we put our hearts and minds to it… Wait, didn’t Lester already use that argument?)

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