Maximum tolerance

That’s what motorists in Metro Manila need daily as we go about our lives – to work and home, to school, to market, to the mall... Traffic in the metropolis is bad enough as it is, without “special events” held right smack in the middle of town leading to streets being closed and traffic being re-routed.

Rizal Park, which is a stone’s throw from our office, is unfortunately a favorite venue for gatherings of all sorts, from prayer rallies to religious processions to supposed medial missions and thanksgiving celebrations; from job fairs to concerts and marches, fun runs, walks and, most recently, a motor marathon.

One can’t argue with the intentions and causes of these events, but do they really have to aim for maximum inconvenience for the rest of us, those who have to go to work and the trucks that have to deliver and bring goods to the port? And since they are given permission by the local government to take over public parks and roads, the least they can do is post signs early enough, and assign enough marshals to keep traffic from becoming a total, impossible snarl. I don’t think my tax money should be spent for a whole battalion of police to try to maintain order in the midst of their disorder.

But hereabouts we have a tendency to use our roads for purposes other than transport. One day last week, on my way to work, I encountered a wake, complete with saklaan; two basketball games; several mechanics working on cars and jeepneys (one of these a paint job); two construction projects that had their gravel and sand and hollow blocks piled on the sidewalk spilling on to the road; and one carinderia that set up two tables and a few stools – all these taking up a lane of the roads, sometimes leaving just one very narrow lane for cars to pass.

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The Philippine Postal Corp. is coming up with personalized stamps. You can have your picture made into a stamp, alongside another stamp featuring the post office building or a tourist destination (you can’t have a solo stamp). This comes after PhlPost launched 3-D stamps recently, innovative moves to draw people back to the postal system.

But wait – horrors! PhlPost is going to pitch the idea to senators and congressmen, who “could use personalized stamps when sending letters to their constituents,” according to a PhlPost official. The stamps could also be “a nice souvenir to give to their guests.”

Isn’t that a form of epal? We just got relief from having the mugs of local and national officials literally shoved in our faces with the presidential directive against putting their names and faces on billboards announcing government projects, and we may now have their faces immortalized in stamps. Makes a great case for using email. Politicians and government officials should be banned from participating in PhlPost’s latest gimmick. I certainly wouldn’t want to see their faces in the corner of the rare letter I receive!