Cops had to be told to do job

That authorities are only now confiscating wang-wang (unauthorized vehicle sirens) shows the rule of man instead of law in RP. It had to take P-Noy to say in inaugural exasperation, “wala nang wang-wang,” for police and transport officials to spring into action. Instantly confiscated were 50 sirens mostly from politicos’ SUVs, while commoners surrendered 20 more. Before that they let the rich and powerful arrogantly to sweep motorists aside in traffic. This, despite the long existence of four laws against illegal sirens, blinkers, and similar gadgets of influence abuse. Because the former admin allowed political allies and cronies to break the rules, law enforcers too began to look the other way. Only now are they excitedly doing their job, as if to please a new President, not to uphold the law.

It’s like Fidel Ramos, delayed by deluge on the way to his rainy first State of the Nation in July 1992, moaning, “Living in the metropolis is hell.” Only then did Metro Manila engineers unclog drains, and only some. When Ramos left in 1998 citizens were still wading in floods. Taxpayers have long been suffering neglect by supposed public servants. What other laws must P-Noy have to tell the authorities to enforce?

Presidential Decree No. 96, of January 12, 1973, is self-explanatory. It “declares unlawful the use or attachment of sirens, bells, horns, whistles or similar gadgets that emit exceptionally loud or startling sounds, including dome lights and other and other signaling or flashing devices on motor vehicles.” Exempted are vehicles for official use by the Armed Forces, NBI, Land Transportation Commission (now Office), police and fire departments, and hospital ambulances.

Law professor Dennis Funa points out that P.D. 96 directs authorities to seize the illicit devices on sight. Repeat offenders face criminal penalties: six months’ imprisonment and/or P600 fine, plus revocation of the vehicle certificate of registration. “(Since) unauthorized use of sirens or blinkers entails criminal sanction,” Funa says, “a public official who violates P.D. 96 therefore may also be held accountable for grave or simple misconduct, depending on the circumstances.” A presidential directive bolsters this penal accountability. Administrative Order No. 122, of June 30, 2005, “directs all government agencies to strictly comply with P.D. 96 declaring unlawful the indiscriminate use of sirens, blinkers and similar devices.”

The ban draws back to June 20, 1964. Republic Act 4136 codified all previous land transport and traffic laws, and formed a Land Transportation Commission. Among its provisions: “No horn or signaling device emitting exceptionally loud, starling or disagreeable sound shall be installed on any motor vehicle.” Penalty then was P50, about a month’s minimum wage.

The Metro Manila Development Authority has its own Ordinance 03-005, of May 22, 2004. It bans “loud power horns, horns of varying sounds, sirens (wang-wang), and similar devices that produce exceptionally loud and startling sounds on all types of vehicles traversing the thoroughfares.” The regulation reiterates P.D. 96. But more than swift confiscation, it directs “outright destruction of the prohibited device at the place of apprehension.”

Clearly, members of the cabinet or Congress, councilors or mayors by themselves are not authorized to use sirens, Funa says. No matter how late they are for appointments, they should wait in lane like all the rest. More so since their haphazard consent of street diggings and roadblocks, promotion of inept transport and traffic bureaucrats, and use of convoys largely cause the jams. So they must bear if not fix it. But sadly government officials and their rich patrons flout the law. They challenge the stern rules against sirens and blinkers with the simple line, “Don’t you know who I am?” Some cops diligently confiscate only to make a quick buck reselling in the black market. Now they’re saying there oughta be a law against import of sirens and blinkers. That’s a lame excuse for failed enforcement: gun sales are strictly regulated yet there are half a million loose firearms. Your P1-bet wins P1,000 that in a few weeks authorities would have forgotten about the crackdown on wang-wang.

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Spokesman Edward King phoned to say that while he agrees with converting Pagcor into a strategic economic agency, it can’t easily be done (Gotcha 28 June 2010). The state gaming firm’s hands are tied, he said, for the law that created it limits it to financing items like the President’s social projects.

But the law can be amended, right? As I said, the policy proposals from readers that I am presenting are broad strokes, for P-Noy’s team to fine-tune if they’re interested.

Reader Miguelito Mercado too reacts: “Pagcor and PCSO were made to generate revenues for the government. Their structures, processes and expertise were designed to maximize revenues in the activities they are engaged in. To expect these same organizations to function as strategic investors, for which they may not have the processes and expertise, let alone the mandate, is not a good idea.”

Reader Renato Go thinks otherwise: “Using Pagcor’s income for strategic investments is brilliant. Our economy’s inability to takeoff, provide employment and alleviate poverty is due to inadequacy of investments.”

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”Evil people can and do threaten us. But quite often the good are more threatening because they show us what we should be and are not.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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