When the guilty sit in judgement

When firemen are attacked and beaten up by residents during a fire, we have a problem. When a fireman makes a public appeal for the police to provide assistance during fires, you know we have a serious problem. When seven people are trapped and burned to death because of steel grills meant to keep thieves out, we have a disaster. When all of the above happen in one week, I think the President should fire or suspend officials at both the national and local government level.

A family of seven recently burned to death and most people at scene surmise that they were trapped by steel grills that technically speaking are not suppose to be allowed by barangay officials, city hall officials and officials from the fire department. The problem is no one is really doing their job. In my own barangay, I have seen at least two houses wrapped in steel grills and one was converted into a store and a boarding house. The place is another disaster waiting to happen considering every possible entry or exit has steel grills. But no one really knows about it because nobody has obviously inspected the place.

In the mean time, investigators and news reporters are now busy sensationalizing the possibility that a “paper lantern” may have caused the fire where the seven people burned to death. Wow, that’s sensational. But that is not what killed the seven people! What killed them was people’s failure to do their job right, including reporters who focused on the superficial and unconfirmed cause of the fire.

Now the question is: Who should be held responsible? The arson investigators from the fire department are focusing on the guys who lit up the paper lanterns. That’s convenient for the firemen knowing that it’s their asses that should be on the line! How can we expect to change things if those who should be held criminally or administratively responsible are actually in-charge of investigations and making the accusations?

In the recent San Juan City fire, a responding fireman was clearly upset by the fact that there were no policemen in the area who could have prevented people from beating up two of his colleagues while trying to put out the fire. In the words of popular radio DJs, “Kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?!” One would think that fire departments and police stations ought to know at the same time that there is a fire in progress. Police stations must have a working protocol on crowd control and crime prevention during a fire. In fact it would be more efficient if a team is on standby or dedicated to such work since cops should be the first on the scene to help clear the way so firemen can do their work. So how come a fireman had to make the appeal on national television?...Because a lot of people are not doing their jobs!

*      *      *

As joyful as it may be, Christmas is undeniably a season of great stress and if you live, work or have to go to the Manila International Airport area, you surely know what I’m talking about. Because of the funnel phenomenon, you have thousands of air travellers flocking to the various terminals to fly out while you have an almost equal number of people also arriving and being fetched by various types of vehicles.

Last Sunday my daughter learned how to spot a “greedy goblin” pretending to be a traffic law enforcer. While the traffic was piling up at the rotunda before the domestic airport road, there on the opposite side of the road stood a man in a green uniform right beside his motorcycle waving at various cars. A lot of the motorists simply ignored him or drove by as if he did not exist. I tried to figure out exactly why he was stopping the cars or what possible violation the driver or the vehicle could be guilty of, but as hard as I tried, I simply couldn’t. It then became very clear to me that this goblin wearing the uniform of a Pasay City traffic enforcer was unashamedly extorting motorists.

Under normal circumstance, many people would simply ignore the whole thing and just drive on, but when you’re stuck in traffic that this corrupt representative of Pasay City could have easily helped ease, it becomes difficult to ignore. I drove near to him as possible and suggested that he could do more good managing traffic, instead of accosting motorists. He haughtily replied it was pointless because the traffic was being caused by the Metro Manila Film Festival and walked off continuing to do what he did before the interruption.

I learned from NAIA regulars that these corrupt motorcycle traffic enforcers under Pasay City are regular fixtures at the domestic airport road and they are an institution to corruption and extortion of motorists especially feeding on Balikbayan OFWs in jeepneys etc. I don’t know what the NAIA management has done about this but the presence of such unsavory characters contribute to whatever negative sentiments or dissatisfaction people may have about our airports.

I realize that the Mayor of Pasay has more important concerns but it would certainly help improve the city’s overall reputation if these enforcers were removed from traffic enforcement or from the airport area. I have met and spoken with other Pasay City traffic enforcers and they are professional and courteous, so it makes me wonder why those assigned at the airport and the Magsaysay Blvd. have notorious reputations. 

That experience last Sunday has actually given me the idea that the airport area be converted into a GREEN Zone instead of being the greed zone of local hoodlums. Perhaps the DILG and the DOTC can step up to bat and work out a system that only national authorities are allowed to operate within the MIAA area. This means that only the MIAA, PNP, MMDA etc. will be allowed to do law enforcement work inside the GREEN Zone. This would be a significant and important first step in eradicating corruption at street level and perhaps even reduce robberies and snatching inside MIAA. An even grander idea would be to fence in the area where only vehicle with business at the MIAA are allowed. Sounds crazy but its one sure way of keeping Green Goblins out!