We've had enough of fraternities! Enough!

If there was anything positive with the declaration of Martial Law, it was the ban that then Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos made against fraternities. But last Sunday’s grenade explosion that severed both legs of student Raissa Laurel and another lady student and wounded scores of others gives us the impression that fraternities regardless of who they say they are, are useless to Philippine society and therefore Congress should now come up with a law to ban them. I understand that the Supreme Court is conducting an investigation on this incident, but whatever the results that come out, the reality today is, fraternities have only caused more pain than gain in this country!

My nephew Atty. Mark Avila who took the bar last year, was just a few meters away from the blast site. He was there to help and support the barristers of the University of San Carlos (USC) Law School and does not belong to any fraternity. Thank God, he escaped the effects of the blast. Incidentally, I was in the office of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama the other day and he told me that the Supreme Court cannot be blameless for securing only the inside premises where the bar exams were held, and not giving any credit to the potential trouble that was brewing because of the presence of rival fraternities, which later erupted into a bigger trouble.

Mayor Rama being experienced with the frat wars in Cebu already sensed trouble. Hence he called Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jessie Robredo but his phone was off. So too with Executive Sec. Paquito Ochoa who couldn’t be reached. Somehow he got in touch with a Metro Manila Mayor who gave him the number of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and he was able to talk with the Manila Mayor telling the latter that the police detail wasn’t enough. The police detail wasn’t only enough; it was too late to prevent the crowd from erupting into trouble.

How many more frat wars do we need to endure before the government decides that enough is enough? I have always maintained that the pent-up energies of our youth could have been better harnessed by returning the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). How many more students have to die before the Filipino people cries out enough? Let’s cry together… enough!

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I got a response from the Land Transportation Office on the article we wrote last Sept. 24th. So allow me to reprint this response in full;

“Dear Mr. Avila, This refers to the article entitled “Wanted: New Rules to Discipline Drivers” that appeared in your column Shooting Straight in the Sept. 24, 2010 issue of the Philippine Star. In you column, you stated among others the various possible reasons why there are frequent fatal road accidents most of which involving passenger buses. You then concluded that accidents do happen because the drivers that get license from LTO are not give proper or basic training for driving skills and safety.

Let me first thank you for your objective and truthful observations and we wish to inform you that the present LTO leadership is working hard to make it an efficient and client-responsive agency. Consequently, our first and foremost aim is to make our roads and streets safe not only for motorists and their passengers but also to pedestrians and passersby.

You have stated in your column that you hope that LTO Chief Virginia Torres gets to read your article. Let me tell you that she had indeed read your article and rest assured that she has taken seriously all your suggestions to make our roads safer for everyone. It is in this premise that she has initiated some changes with regard to issuing licenses by directing all the heads of offices throughout the country to strictly enforce all the needed requirements before issuing a driver’s license to an applicant. 

Assistant Secretary Torres is convinced that one of the best ways to minimize if not to totally stop the rash of road accidents is to make sure that those applying for driver’s licenses are already well-versed in all the nuances of driving before they are allowed to drive vehicles. Under her watch, she would not allow applicants to obtain their driver’s license without having to undergo the required training. Likewise, she also instructed all heads of offices to keep tab of the telephone numbers of the applicants for purposes of random checks to determine if the person who applied for the license is the same person using it. Those LTO officials who will be found to be issuing licenses to undeserving applicants face the prospect of being sanctioned administratively.

In closing, let me assure you that Assistant Sec. Torres adheres to the believe that road safety begins the moment an applicant applies for a license because many accidents could be avoided if only those who are in the streets are well trained and discipline drivers. Very Truly yours, Robert R. Ricohermoso LTO-Public Information Officer.” Thanks Mr. Ricohermoso for this letter. 

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.