What have you done to make the world better?

Every week, we come across many complaints about traffic, flooding, infrastructure, and many other matters.

Now we ask our fellow motorists, what have we done to make our place better?

We want improvement and demand that others do their share, but are we doing our share also?

We hate traffic congestion, but we double park or stop where we are not supposed to stop or drive vehicles that can bog down anytime.

We hate floods, but many have the habit of throwing trash just about anywhere. There is that thinking that “it was just a candy wrapper and it won’t do much harm.” 

What if 1,000 people throw candy wrappers, what effect would it have on the already clogged drainage. Also, people are not only throwing candy wrappers and garbage trucks drop refuse on the streets as they crew carelessly go about their work.

People like these get away with it not only because we have lousy law enforcement, but because many simply don’t care.

During a meeting of parents at Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu a few Saturdays ago, Fr. Manuel Uy, the school president narrated how he saw the passengers of a car throw away empty food packaging out of the window on AS Fortuna St.

Fr. Manny said that he asked the driver to speed up as he wanted to see if that car belonged to a family with a child from SHS-AdC. He said he felt relief that it did not have a gate pass of the school, but he reminded the parents of their role in the development of the children, by also setting a good example at home and in places outside the school.

Last weekend, we told a Caucasian who was driving a motorcycle that he cannot make a left turn coming out from a mall in Tabunok Talisay, but he just laughed. He did not even wear a helmet as if mocking our authorities.

We complain of foreign nationals abusing in our country, but maybe they do it because many of us are doing the same?

Just recently, a policeman found himself in trouble after he blocked the presidential convoy in Manila.

The policeman was also found to be driving a vehicle without a license. How can the authorities expect people to follow the law when they themselves think they are exempt from the law?

A little past 1 p.m. yesterday we saw the silver-colored patrol vehicle of CITOM parked on a NO STOPPING zone on V. Rama Ave. near the Professional Regulations Commission office. Why park the vehicle there?

Another bad example by authorities that we regularly see is the police patrol vehicle parked on a NO STOPPING area in front of the Pardo Police Station. Traffic is very bad in this area, because jeepneys don’t bother to stop in the designated area, probably seeing that the police themselves can’t obey the law.

We hope Sr. Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe can teach the chief of the Pardo Police a lesson in being a good example.

We can all do our share of making a better place for all of us. There will always be people, who are too dumb to do things right, but if they see everyone else doing the right thing, they would also understand how things ought to be done.

There is a saying that complaining will sap our energy. It truly does, but if we only complain and don’t do our share of doing things right, then we better shut up.

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