A double standard in applying our traffic laws

They call them “Kuliglig” in Manila. Fortunately, we do not have yet a Cebuano counterpart for this contraption, a three-wheeled motorized pedicab that have caused a traffic gridlock in the streets of Manila. This is why Mayor Alfredo Lim who has been dubbed “Dirty Harry” has cracked down on these unauthorized vehicles and rightly so, because they just don’t litter the streets and block traffic, they also are very unsafe for passengers to use. But the kuliglig users fought back and Manila once more ended looking like a war zone!

This brings us to the problem of having a double standard attitude in the application of our country’s laws. For years, the “Kuliglig” was tolerated by the Manila City government, hence they grew to the level that they are already a nuisance. A year ago, when I was in downtown Manila specifically in Ongpin, I saw these contraptions. They were not only unsafe, they pollute the environment because of their noise and poor maintenance where their engines smoked. I agree that they should not be allowed on our streets.

If at all anyone should be blamed for this mess, it falls squarely on the shoulders of our politicians who tell the traffic enforcers to be lenient on the kuliglig. While we do not have any kuliglig in Cebu, we do have our “Trisikads” which operate in the downtown areas with impunity simply because many of them can run to the powers that be and the poor traffic enforcer are hapless in removing the obstacles that causes traffic.

The big question to ask is are we still a nation of laws or are we a nation of men? First and foremost, all of us only have a privilege to drive in our streets, which is why all of us who drive must have a license to drive our vehicles. Mind you, this is a privilege, not a right. But then to the poor, they take what they think they can bring into the streets and use it with impunity because they don’t care.

The late President Ramon Magsaysay once quipped “Those who have less in life should have more in law.” This phrase has been taken out of context by those who have less in life, by insisting that they have a right to use any contraption on our streets. If our streets are chaotic today, don’t blame the poor traffic enforcer; rather, blame their political masters who allows the poor to believe that they have a right to use our streets.

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If you want proof how poor and decrepit our country is, just look at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In a story in The Philippine Star I read that the Philippine Air Force was preparing its lone Lockheed C-130 Hercules for possible repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) working in South Korea. How many OFWs are working in Korea? If they are so many, then sending a lone C-130 might be too costly. It would be better if we tapped our national carrier, Philippine Air Lines (PAL) or Cebu Pacific Air to get them out just in case.

At this time, cooler heads seems to have gotten the upper hand. Sure, the two Koreas are throwing threats at each other, but I’m sure that the People’s Republic of China, the staunchest ally of North Korea must have already warned the Nokors to stop firing at their southern neighbor. If there is another war that would explode in the Korean Peninsula, you can bet that the biggest loser will be China, whose economy has already boomed and its people experienced what is being rich and moneyed. All this would come crashing down if there is a conflict with the two Koreas.

As for the Americans, they were quick to respond and support South Korea, sending the Super Carrier USS George Washington into a joint military exercises not far from the demilitarized zone. With America experiencing a two year economic woes, a war in the Korean Peninsula would undoubtedly jumpstart the American economy. History tells us that a Democratic government always comes up with a war, which would always boost the American economy. What we are telling you are the pros and cons of what could happen if in case the Korean Peninsula explodes into a war. But my hunch is that the cooler heads would prevail.

Incidentally, the issue of the so-called Wiki-Leaks have been headlined in the past two days because apparently, those leaks include telegrams or memos being sent from the US Embassy to Washington. I’ve been searching the Wiki-Leaks for any explosive information about the Philippines, but so there wasn’t anything worth printing about us as of press time. Of course Washington is raising hell these days, searching every nook and cranny for those people who provided those sensitive information about the United States and its Allies, like the one about Saudi Arabia wanting the Americans to use their military might against belligerent Iran whom they do not accept as Arabs after all, they are Persians, though they are Muslim brothers.

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