Doing it right

The devastation wrought by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that followed in Japan continue to haunt many of us as we saw what the forces of nature can do to man-made structures.

The catastrophe happened in Japan where the buildings and other structures are built to withstand earthquakes, we can only imagine what would happen if such would hit the Philippines.

More than praying for God’s protection, we believe that this is high time that all of us – government and the private sector – start doing things right by complying with the laws and standards set for our protection.

This does not only go for our buildings and other infrastructure, but also with our vehicles.

As motorists, one good deed we can do is to make sure that we comply properly with what the law requires to have our vehicles registered. This will not only mean contributing to cleaner air, but it would also mean much to helping save money for fuel.

With the steadily rising cost of fuel, we ought to take immediate action by making our vehicles perform better.

Yes, it entails money to fix smoke-belching engines, but if you just compute the cost of repair and the cost of fuel saved, you might realize that it would be more prudent to have your vehicle fixed. Aside from saving fuel, you will be saved from the hassle of being stopped by the teams that do roadside emission tests.

Be a responsible motorist, not only for the present generation, but for our children and their children also.

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A reader called us up to react to the apprehension of drivers, who don’t bother to turn on their vehicles headlights.

She said that this should not be done only once or a few times, but on a very regular basis.

“Kabalo bitaw ta nga kining atong mga driver nga kung wala na pod gani manakop, mo-violate ra pod dayon,” she said.

“CITOM must not relent and keep on doing this bahala’g muabot ang time nga wala nay madakpan, because that means they are effective.”

She added, “aw, nawad-an na baya kog salig ani atong CITOM, just like sa imong gisuwat sa column last week. Tinuod na nga wala na gyud respeto ang mga drivers nila, ambot ngano kaha. It must be the leadership nila murag nagsige ra man ug sitting pretty.”

She asked that we not identify her, but she hopes that the CITOM officials would get her message.

We believe that some people in the CITOM do find time to read our column, ma’am.

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For your comments, complaints, and suggestions please feel free to contact us at 2531276 or 2568613 local 237.

You can also send email to [email protected].