EDITORIAL - APEC syndrome afflicting Filipino APEC drivers

A black Toyota Grandia ran through a red light at the corner of Serging Osmeña Boulevard and Pope John Paul II Avenue early afternoon of last Sunday. The van was empty but for the driver. On the right hand side of its windshield was pasted a square-foot-sized piece of paper or cardboard with a number on it, indicating that it was a vehicle used by APEC delegates.

There is no argument that APEC delegates needed to be accorded certain courtesies, as evidenced by the rerouting of traffic on their behalf, so that they might not be caught in traffic jams, for which Cebu is fast getting notorious for. But does a lone driver with no APEC delegates on board deserve to enjoy similar courtesies such as permission to run a red light? We do not think so.

Even if an APEC vehicle has delegates on board, we do not think it has the right to run a red light unless accompanied by official escorts, It is the presence of these official escorts that lends the vehicle and its occupance the degree of importance that allows the waiving of certain traffic rules on their behalf. Without the official escorts, and especially if the vehicle has no delegates on board other than the driver, we do not believe such a vehicle continues to enjoy such rights.

What the driver of that black Toyota Grandia (whose plate numbers we unfortunately missed) did was a clear example of how a little importance can get to the head of certain individuals. Just because a person happens to drive APEC delegates does not bestow on his own person the same privileges accorded to our guests. What that driver succeeded in doing was to display the very bad side of some Filipinos who, like flies on the back of a carabao, already think they are also carabaos.

The incident should serve as a wakeup call to local APEC organizers that there is a need to rein in certain individuals with bad habits who, with the roles they play, no matter how small, in this massive event, can still put a lasting damper on all the honest intentions and best efforts that went into the preparations for the APEC.

We do not believe that the APEC delegates, even with their need to be transported fast and safe to their respective venues, would want to be a party to the breaking of rules, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant these rules are. The APEC delegates are important people in their respective countries. They are all part of an organization with its own regulations, the disregard or disrespect for which could lead to its own downfall.

It is good that this bad side of Filipino drivers got exposed early while we are still in the fringes of the APEC meetings. Again, we are all for extending due courtesies to our guests. But we do not feel the same courtesies apply to APEC drivers when they are alone in their vehicles with no APEC delegates on board, and most especially if they are without official escorts.