Tug of War for Revenues

It’s a good thing that Malacanang has stepped in to referee the continued tug-of-war between the local governments and the MMDA over who really has the legal mandate to manage traffic in the metro. Although many mayors have signified their intention to abide by what President GMA has directed, that is the task to remain with the MMDA, word has it that many local execs still opt to appeal for a reconsideration of Ate Glo’s decision.

It will be recalled that some years back traffic management was taken out from the list of tasks of police officers to make them concentrate more on preventing street crimes and apprehending criminals. Some are apprehensive that a shift of traffic management would bring back the old days when policemen often find themselves deciding between running after street snatchers or stay by their posts directing traffic.

But the root of the controversy is really all about money — fines from traffic violations that right now significantly finance the operations of the MMDA.

As it is, we find visible signs of good spending being made by the good chairman Bayani Fernando — nobody thought of putting urinals along EDSA to prevent some uncouth drivers from urinating right at their tires just partly hidden by their vehicle’s wheel wells but in plain view of the public (Most of the metro’s cities do not even have public urinals to begin with.), it may really be a better idea presently to maintain status quo. Some of the mayors would not find me in good light for saying this but really and truly the MMDA leadership could use all the support it can get from the local governments as it continues to exercise political will in doing what should be done to the metro, not only in terms of traffic management but in the total improvement of the quality of life of the residents. There have been policies of chairman Fernando that I don’t agree with, like the opening up of subdivision gates to public traffic, but I must admit that by and large, for so many years, it’s only now that we actually have in our midst visual results of good metro management. With all due respect to all past MMDA heads, it is only the present leadership that has the balls to clear our streets and sidewalks for the proper use of vehicles and pedestrians. Something none of the past leaders showed similar drive and dedication to achieve.

The MMDA is visibly doing its best to improve life in the metro and it needs all the additional support it can get, not less of it. Besides, the mayors should be happy seeing their surroundings tremendously improve without necessarily losing votes as the MMDA gets all the flak from those affected by the long awaited reforms. That’s the best of both worlds. A win-win for all.

F1 Pit Lane Notes

Finally, Ralf Schumacher claimed his first victory of the season and the 5th of his career in the European Grand Prix. He had a fabulous weekend from qualifying winding down to the race itself and Schumacher fans in the stands were obviously quite ecstatic over the outcome of the race. No group, however, was happier than the Williams-BMW crew as, for the first time this season, it was a 1-2 Williams’s finish. Juan Pablo Montoya displayed gutsy and near-flawless driving to grab second place.

Despite a highly impressive qualifying session, Kimi Raikkonen allowed Michael Schumacher to extend his lead in the Driver’s Championship to 7. In a race that was dripped with drama and controversy, Kimi was the first to retire in lap 26 due to a blown engine. It was a shame because Raikkonen was having a splendid race — in fact, he was miles away from the driver behind him before the unfortunate incident. It was not a very good day for McLaren. David Coulthard was comfortably set to come in 5th place when Fernando Alonso of Renault committed a braking error (or was it a deliberate but dangerous move?) that led to Coulthard spinning to the sand.

Schumi showed that he is also human after all when he spun on the 43rd lap committing an error (as the commentators saw it and as I myself interpret it) that caused his car to lightly tap Montoya’s BMW as the determined Columbian was trying to pass him. The race could still be under deliberation because of a couple of points. Michael was allowed to still race despite outside help and the commentators reported that this was acceptable because, in the rules, you can obtain outside help if you find your car in a dangerous position on the track. So what would stop any racer that would find himself in a similar situation to position his car in a dangerous place in order to avail of outside help and continue with the race? Maybe the right way to go about the rule would be for the driver to be pushed out of the dangerous zone, but he should not be permitted to race again. But of course I’ll have to admit that I’m not that familiar on the FIA rules on this.

But the good news is we all don’t have to wait for two weeks to enjoy another F1 race. The French Grand Prix is this Sunday!

A lizard for good luck

Some people have rabbit’s foot for good luck, others have their own extracted molars in their key chains to bring them good fortune but for the Inquirer’s Al "Pareng Paul" Mendoza, it’s a tattoo of an Iguana on his leg that does wonders. The recognized walking encyclopedia when it comes to the Beatles earning him the "Pareng Paul" moniker (Toyota’s top marketing executive Danny "Pareng Ringgo" Isla, another "Beatlemaniac" swears my good friend Al can rattle off facts and figures about the Fab Four even when fast asleep in Business Class 30,000 feet above sea level) proved this by romping off with the top award in Class B of the recently held Honda Media Gold Invitational 2003 at the Manila Golf and Country Club.

Did I hear Honda’s Arnel Doria right when he said, "Al’s victory was either because of the Iguana tattoo or because they placed Rey Gamboa (IBC-13 News - "Isyung Kalakalan Atpb") on Class A — nothing else."

This is the kind of banter and ribbing that media practitioners and Honda executives engaged in after the golf tourney with all friendly familiarity — after all this is already the tournament’s 7th staging.

PDI’s Jun Engracia took Class A top honors while Bulletin’s Aris Ilagan snatched the Class C trophy despite not having tattoos in their bodies.

Honda Cars Philippines president Mr. Mitsunari Takano did quite very well himself. Despite being a self-confessed basketball fanatic, Takano-san, who only started swinging his golf clubs upon his assignment to this country that has a golf-crazed media, must really be a natural athlete considering his score compared to those playing a lot longer that he has. One thing I can be sure of, if Takano-san played better than Mr. Doria, his top Filipino executive, Arnel-san would have again invoked the "seniority rule" as an excuse.

Motoring Media Troops to the Fort

This Friday, July 4 is a red-letter day for local motoring journalists as Toyota Motor Philippines lines up a Vios Media Test Drive cum "happy hour" (after the test drive of course) starting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at the Fort Bonifacio Global City to end up at Pier One.

The Vios is the latest passenger car offering of Toyota to the local market launched just a few weeks ago. In anticipation of the eventual passage of the revised excise tax law, which has successfully passed its second reading when the Senate went into a recess a few weeks ago, Toyota has firmed up the price schedule for its range of interesting variants.

Ariel de Jesus, official spokesman of Toyota Motor Philippines, has given an assurance of excitement during and after the test drive. And when Ariel mentions the word excitement, Toyota’s top marketing honcho, Danny "Pareng Ringgo" Isla can never be far behind.

Happy Motoring!!!

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