Forgotten in a period of unholy ‘war’, Holy Week is almost here

It took a policeman, strange to say, to remind me that Holy Week is just around the corner. I was talking to the new Chief of the Traffic Management Group, Police Chief Superintendent Errol Trinidad Pan, quizzing him about carnapping in Metro Manila, hijacking and highway robbery, and what new measures he had put in place since he was designated to take over the TRAFGROUP (TMG), a few weeks ago.

I must say that General Pan, who comes from Goa, Camarines Sur and graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1974 impressed me with his knowledge and understanding of his new assignment. He chuckled when he admitted that his father had named him after a favorite movie star, the late swashbuckling action hero, Errol Flynn.

I laughed at the coincidence. When I was a kid, Errol Flynn had been my idol, too. You younger readers probably never heard of him, but Flynn had been the first Hollywood superstar to come out of Australia (from Hobart, Tasmania at that) and had made his name from such sword-fighting epics as Captain Blood, The Seahawks, They Died With Their Boots On, Custer, Elizabeth and Essex, etc.

But I digress. During our conversation, Pan told me that his Traffic Management Group’s most pressing problem was to mobilize for the summer vacation months, climaxed by Semana Santa (Holy Week) which I suddenly realized is almost upon us, i.e. April 10 to 16.

The Sunday after next, in short, is already Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) April 9th. That’s when Our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph, riding on an ass, to be hailed by thousands who waved palms and threw flowers at his feet. A few days later, on Good Friday (Mahal na Araw) the same crowd was shouting, "Crucify him!" Which just goes to demonstrate the fickleness of the mob and the unreliability, one might say parenthetically, of poll surveys.

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General Pan pointed out that the summer months of March, April and May are characterized, aside from Holy Week, by many town fiestas, Flores de Mayo and other religious processions. In this period, thousands of vacationists and excursionists troop to the provinces from Metro Manila and other urban centers, creating traffic jams on the highway, the probability of traffic accidents, and opportunities for carnappers to strike, as well as criminals to enjoy a field day. For this reason, his traffic group would have to be on full alert as well as recruit local police units and even military units to help in maintaining law and order.

He revealed that the entire stretch of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Maharlika highway in the south and the MacArthur Highway in the north, would be manned by patrol teams of uniformed personnel. Service teams composed of ambulances manned by doctors and nurses, and tow trucks with mechanics would also have to be stationed in strategic locations along each route. For this reason, the TMG chief underscored, "safety" campaign information drives have already been launched in coordination with the REACT Philippines, Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc. (SOPI), Philippine Motors Association (PMA) and other affiliated car assemblers such as Honda Philippines, PAMCOR, Columbia Motors, etc.

Anyway, if you are a motorist or in any sort of trouble the telephone numbers of CP-Headquarters, Traffic Management Group in Camp Crame are 7220868 or 7218516. Or Crametext: 7230401 local 3399.

It’s amazing that caught up in our non-stop political "wars" many people in Metro Manila have almost forgotten that we are in the period of Lent and that Holy Week is fast approaching. The only symptoms that impinge is the fact that the days are getting hotter, and that tax-paying time is upon us.

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The TMG maintains that carnapping has gone down, if that’s any consolation to anybody who has lost a vehicle. In 2004, 807 cars and other vehicles were carjacked. Last year, in 2005, there were 629 vehicles stolen. Quezon City remains the hardest hit area. In 2005, 256 vehicles were carjacked in QC. Manila came next in terms of carnapping with 85. Makati saw 67 vehicles lost; Parañaque 41; Pasig 28; Mandaluyong 23; Pasay 23; San Juan 19; Marikina 17; Valenzuela 17; Las Pinas 17; Muntinlupa 7; Caloocan 6; and Navotas 1. So, go park your car in Navotas, which is often under water.

You might also want to know that 174 cars in Metro Manila were forcibly taken in 2005, while 829 vehicles were stolen while parked.

The PNP reports that it has been actively "neutralizing" syndicated gangs. The Garcia Gang was broken up in an encounter on February 8, 2005 at Barangay San Isidro in San Simon, Pampanga. Four of the suspects were killed in action, the police recovered two caliber .30 carbines and two cal .38 revolvers.

The Alvarez Gang was hit by a combined team of RTMO 4a, PPO and PNP Special Action Force on January 31, 2005 in San Pascual, Batangas. Eight suspects were arrested. The police recovered one Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR); one M-16 Baby Armalite; one carbine cal .30; one 22 cal rifle and four cal .45 pistols.

The Gabayeron Gang was smashed in a police encounter on March 6 at Barangay Mabuhay, General Santos City, Mindanao. Two suspects were killed with one cal .38 paltik recovered.

The Black Shark Gang was cornered on July 7, 2005, at Sitio Calamiasan, Barangay San Fernando, Malvar, Batangas. Five gang members were killed. Firearms recovered consisted of one M-16 Baby Armalite; two cal .45 Colt pistols; and one cal .22 Squires Bingham Rifle.

The Dulay Gang was "neutralized" by Task Force Limbas on November 7, 2005 in front of the AIC Gold Building along Garnet Street, Pasig City. Three suspects were killed in the shoot-out with one 9 mm pistol and one Ingram pistol recovered.

There was even one group simply dubbed "unknown" gang which the same Task Force Limbas cornered on October 28, 2005 at about 1:45 am on Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City. Three of the suspects were killed and two cal .45 automatics were recovered.

Anyway, that’s the TMG progress report to date. But don’t get complacent. There are other carnapping gangs still in operation.

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THE ROVING EYE… The collapse of a portion of the ceiling of the new Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, even before the terminal could be opened for business is sordid proof that the building constructed by Piatco is woefully substandard and may be unsafe. Imagine that: a brand-new building breaking up even before its inauguration. How airlines and airplane passengers can be convinced to use NAIA Terminal 3 is now very iffy. What a scandal! Unless stringent safety inspections can be conducted and the entire terminal construction reviewed by international inspectors, we can no longer hope for certification by the Federal Aviation Administration and other international safety organizations. The NAIA 3, no matter what propaganda spin may be put on the issue by our embarrassed government, may have become a multi-billion peso White Elephant. Remember Imelda’s Film Center building in the Cultural Center Complex? In order to meet the deadline of an extravagant International Film Festival to be held there, the erection of the Film Center was rushed at such a breakneck pace that one day the entire huge roof came crashing down on the workers perched atop it and those working underneath. Dozens perhaps even hundreds of construction workers were crushed or buried beneath wreckage. Up to now nobody seems to know the total death toll since there was a massive cover-up of the dimensions of the tragedy by the Marcos Martial Law regime. However, it seems the finally completed building is "haunted" by ghosts who allegedly go bump in the night. The Department of Foreign Affairs for a while tried to utilize the building for its consular services but abandoned it after a short period. Fortunately, nobody was around to be hurt when a portion of the NAIA Terminal 3 roof collapsed. But it’s a warning. How will the government remedy this situation? One thing is clear: NAIA-3 can’t be opened till almost the end of the year. Who’ll be prosecuted for this debacle?