Albert Einstein once said: “We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” In all humility, I submit that Einstein could have extended his thought by adding that we should also keep out the people who created the problem!
Today marks the official “Take Over EDSA” campaign of the PNP Highway Patrol Group one of the most feared and toughest traffic law enforcement group known to any Filipino driver old enough to encounter them, see them in action on the road, or be at the receiving end of their no-nonsense law enforcement activities. The introduction of the Highway Patrol Group is a clear indicator of desperation on the part of the MMDA & Malacañang on how to handle the daily traffic nightmares on EDSA. It also gives us a hint that there must be a breakdown in traffic law enforcement if we now need an armed component of over 100 highway men with Glocks and 45 caliber automatic pistols to enforce traffic laws.
This in turn could be the sign or the result of what we in media have always referred to as the systemic and endemic corruption in our public transport system. Are things so bad that motorists and violators no longer obey the law and our MMDA traffic enforcers? I don’t think so. I along with many drivers in Metro Manila still follow the “coding rule” we still respect and obey traffic enforcers even the money-making ones along Meralco Avenue, Andrews Avenue/ Domestic Road, we even slow down for the various ASBU-SADOS or abusive Anti Smoke Belching Units.
If there has been a breakdown in traffic law enforcement it is squarely and solely the fault of the MMDA leadership beginning with Chairman Francis Tolentino. Tolentino’s greatest sin and singular downfall is in trying to wear too many hats, please too many people and not concentrating on his most important responsibility: to make sure that there is mobility in Metro Manila.
In his early years, Tolentino manifested wisdom by coming up with motorcycle lanes especially on C-5, a bike lane on the sidewalk along EDSA, suggesting that there should be a department dedicated to addressing disasters and disaster relief. Perhaps Tolentino should have taken these observations to heart and relegated, flood control to DPWH while passing on the Metro Manila Film Festival to Ogie Alcasid or Charo Santos. In hindsight maybe he should not have experimented and tried to reinvent what Bayani Fernando put in place such as the U-turn slots or rerouting schemes if he does not have the resources or the determination to sustain them. Instead of extending his already stretched resources to provinces, he should have restrained himself to the limits and boundaries indicated in the title of his office “Metro Manila.”
Chairman Tolentino cannot talk or excuse himself out of his gigantic failure because the daily monumental traffic that we now face is the testimony that he did not pay attention to his job and many now accuse him of not being on the job, not being at work and thus losing control of over one of the most vital and critical institutions in Metro Manila.
If there are a million cars more jamming the metropolis it did not happen in months. The pile up and accumulation took five years. If construction works popped up like mushrooms, these were five years in the making as reflected in the history of projects under the PPP or Public -Private Partnership program of the PNoy Misadministration. It is true that Secretary Mar Roxas and Secretary Jun Abaya and his minions at the DOTC should be crucified by the MMDA and the DPWH for obliterating the Mass Transit program of the country in five years, resulting in more cars, motorcycles and buses on the roads of Metro Manila. But again the disappearance of our Mass Transit took five years not 12 months.
The fact of the matter is that Metro Manilans have long seen the coming traffic nightmare, they have been calling attention to the frequency of EDSA turning into a parking lot and C-5 becoming a highway to hell in terms of attacks, criminality and the fact that the 2 lane elevated U-turn ramps on C-5 and Kalayaan are badly designed and does more harm than good. So how did the MMDA miss all this and why are the people who are responsible for the mess still part of coming up with the solutions?
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As far as EDSA is concerned, Yes, the HPG will make a difference, but they can only wave the traffic through. Unless the government, or we in civil society and the media band together to expose, prosecute and shut down corrupt local officials, traffic officials and the source of bribes which are from bus, jeepney, UV Express, and tricycle associations, our traffic resolution will be in the words of Erap: “Weather-Weather lang.”
In addition to putting pressure against the corrupt, the lawyers, law firms and auto clubs such as the AAP and commuter groups should start filing cases against national and local government officials for dereliction of duty, abandoning their posts, and whatever else we can throw at them. How is it possible that people criticize the MMDA Chairman for premature campaigning or electioneering but none of the consumer, transport or motoring groups have thought of filing a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman. No one has filed a complaint against Mayors who don’t act on persistent complaints against kotong traffic enforcers.The reason people abuse and get away with not doing their job or having conflicting interests is because we simply make comments, criticize them on Facebook, or text the media outlets. We need to send a message to officials that if they want the honor it comes with a responsibility!
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