Ningas-cogon crackdown?

Many of us, I’m sure, have been immensely irritated by cars bearing government officials, with loudly blaring trail cars weaving in and out in front and/or behind them, forcing traffic out of their way, while the rest of humanity is left to suffer gridlock.

These official cars typically sport red government plates or standard "security" plates. Some have no plates at all. Many are escorted by smartly uniformed cops mounted on shiny motorcycles.

But wait just one doggone minute! Isn’t there supposed to be a campaign to strictly enforce Presidential Decree No. 96? That law, which took effect in 1973 and remains in the books, regulates the use of sirens, blinkers and similar devices on vehicles.

Specifically, it is unlawful for any owner or possessor of any motor vehicle to use or attach in his vehicle any siren, bell, horn, whistle or similar gadgets that produce exceptionally loud or startling sounds, including dome lights, blinkers and other similar signaling or flashing devices.

Under P.D. 96, only the following officials are exempted: the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The law also exempts marked official vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Fire Protection, hospital ambulances and other emergency vehicles. Last October, the PNP clarified that bank armored cars or vans and other vehicles used for similar purposes are not exempted from the law.

Also not exempted, i.e. fully covered, are senators, congressmen, Cabinet secretaries, provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, and unmarked AFP and PNP vehicles even if the latter carry high-ranking military and police officials. The law does not exempt rich businessmen and members of their families, even those scared stiff of being kidnapped for ransom.

There is no exemption, somewhat surprisingly, even for unmarked vehicles used by "intelligence" operatives such as that used to block the suspects’ car in the Ortigas incident.

A couple of months ago, a campaign to strictly enforce the law was announced with great fanfare. Police checkpoints were set up all over the metro area and for a few days a number of vehicles were apprehended or impounded.

Why, even Cavite Governor Ayong Maliksi, then under preventive suspension because of an anti-graft case, was stopped for having unauthorized blinkers and sirens in his official vehicle and security convoy. That was criticized as being too coincidental, considering the messy conflict raging at the time between powerful political groups in his province. Still, and despite the usual snickering about ningas cogon taking over before long, the public thought the campaign might be for real.

The suspension of Gov. Maliksi has since been lifted by the Sandiganbayan. And the PNP campaign against illegal blinkers and sirens? Well, it looks very much like it’s been swept under the rug or relegated to the bottom of the PNP’s priority list.

In fact, the blatant violations seem to have increased. So have complaints from motorists about convoys of ostensibly official cars careening through clogged streets, forcing traffic to give way as the occupants of these cars speed to – who knows? – perhaps a karaoke session inconveniently delayed due to government business requiring their presence. Not that their presence does any good, mind you.

These vehicles have heavily tinted windows, so it’s impossible to see who the passengers are. Many lead and trail cars don’t have license plates. But the Land Transportation Office has already ruled that even new cars may not travel on public roads without license plates. Conduction stickers have long been disallowed. I am not aware of any exemption from this regulation for government vehicles or private vehicles of government officials.

I wonder if the slackening of the drive has anything to do with the fact that the office assigned to strictly enforce P.D. 96 is the Traffic Management Group, the same group primarily responsible for the "war" against carnapping and carjacking. The campaign began when the TMG was headed by Chief Supt. Ricardo Quinto, who was relieved when the carjacking problem exploded during his watch.

The man on the spot today is current TMG head, Chief Supt. Augusto Angcanan. On paper at least, the campaign to strictly enforce the law on illegal blinkers and sirens is still on. However, Angcanan is preoccupied at the moment with defending his men’s actions in the killing of three suspected carjackers at the Ortigas commercial center.

Actually, it makes sense to give the primary responsibility for enforcing P.D. 96 to the TMG. As the principal police group concerned with traffic on all the nation’s streets, this Group should enforce all laws and regulations having to do with the operation of motor vehicles. Apprehending vehicles with unauthorized sirens and blinkers also allows the TMG to check whether the violators are, in fact, criminals trying to facilitate the commission of their nefarious activities.

There may be unintended benefits to enforcement of P.D. 96. For instance, the number of mounted cops assigned to escort duties will likely be reduced. Thus, more of them can be assigned to help unclog traffic or enforce discipline among hardheaded private car and public utility motorists, assuming they don’t turn into kotong cops.

But more than this, if high government officials are forced to suffer the choking traffic like the rest of us, perhaps they might be persuaded to get off their duffs and implement immediate steps to resolve Metro Manila’s perennial bottlenecks.

There is absolutely no reason – none! – why officials not exempted by P.D. 96 should be spared. Indeed, they should be the first to feel the consequences of their own neglect and inaction.

Next time I encounter these law-breakers, I‘ll take the trouble of noting the plate numbers, make, model and body color of the vehicles. If no plate numbers, I’ll note that too, including whether they’re escorted by motorcycle cops. We’ll turn the info over to the authorities for appropriate action. If the authorities don’t act, I’m sure media will be happy to pursue the matter.

Hey, maybe we can start a campaign of our own!