Make it government’s business

Before I get into my heavy-duty topic for today, allow me to issue this warning to the public. With the start of the election campaign, we would like to warn owners of SUVs, 4-wheel luxury vehicles, pick-up and the likes to please be extra careful about where you drive your car and especially where you park. According to neighborhood sources, two SUVs were recently carnapped from a grocery parking lot within our Barangay in Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig.

This seasonal occurrence has been observed to take place during campaign periods in the same way that more bank and moneychanger robberies also take place during elections. People tend to put their guard down when they’re within their neighborhood and this presents a perfect opportunity for seasoned criminals.

*      *      *

Another warning to motorists; be careful when driving out of the NAIA specifically Terminal 1. A band of street hoodlums have been openly harassing motorists and intimidating them for money and when you piss them off they scratch your car, break your wipers, or your side mirrors.

The irony is that the Airport Police, that can be oh so powerful and scary when they want to, as well the Philippine National Police detachment have ignored or been useless in arresting these criminal elements. It would seem that the NAIA PNP contingent and the Airport Police are more interested in what goes on inside the terminal and completely forget that their area of concern is several hectares wide.

The hoodlums reportedly hide or reside along a creek some 500 meters from the NAIA 1 driveway and main parking lot. All the cab drivers I’ve spoken to know about the problem and now, the problem is posted on the Internet. So what are the NAIA security officials going to do about it? Wait until a foreigner posts that “highway robbers” strike at the bottom of the NAIA driveway? Sorry but I already mentioned this before but NAIA officials seem to have more important concerns than criminals in their driveway.

*      *      *

While watching Jessica Soho’s SONA news program, I watched their segment concerning the fight over “graphic warnings” to be placed on cigarette packs. The idea is to force cigarette manufacturers to print photos of smokers who have developed different types of cancers and tumors essentially to shock or scare smokers. A group called Health Justice has principally been at the forefront of the campaign alongside the Department of Health and they have been pushing and pushing Congress to pass the law.

Unfortunately, in a nation where the legal process is more complicated than the Genesis Chronicles in the Bible, the proponents of the Graphic Warning campaign have found their work stonewalled by Judges, injunctions, and politicians. Knowing the people involved in the conflict, I surmise that they all agree on one thing; it’s all a matter of time when the graphic warnings will happen just like the Sin Tax was passed. The tobacco company executives are merely postponing the inevitable for as long as they can, while the anti-tobacco coalition know that every push they make brings them a day closer to victory.

In the mean time, it might interest the anti-tobacco coalition to consider an added option in their war against smoking. Why not make it government’s business to educate and advertise the physical effects of smoking?

Recently I have observed a number of government/public sector advertising that are really eye catching, novel and attention grabbing. The first one I noticed was that of the Department of Foreign Affairs which has come out with a series of print ads with the Philippine STAR featuring “human interest” stories about their officers and staff working as Foreign Service professionals. The style and presentation successfully communicates a fresh look and washes away impressions of DFA people as gray haired, stuck‑up snobs who just want to live abroad. The new ads make the DFA people look good but all in a natural way.

Then I recently saw the TV ad that worked around an “encounter” between kids and “military” personnel. The story was so tight that I was not sure at the beginning whose ad it was. It felt like some NGO, or maybe from the Peace Panel or Office of Muslim Affairs. Eventually it became clear that the “military” were in the village to build relationships and do this through sports. Ultimately the ad reveals that it was a PAGCOR advertisement promoting their involvement in nation building.

Of course most of us have seen the “It’s More Fun In The Philippines” campaign that has become the most successful promotion of Philippine Tourism perhaps because it was a combined effort of government, citizens and Social Media.

Using this as a background, plus the fact that the government recently passed the Sin Tax that will net them gazillions from taxes, why can’t government also spend money on developing video messages for TV and Social Media concerning the horrible impact of smoking?

Instead of just forcing the hand of the cigarette companies to slap themselves, government should make it their business to continuously educate Filipinos about the real effects of smoking and not just try to scare them with “warnings” or talk about the problem in forums. For instance, let the DOH come out with testimonials from people who discovered the bad side to smoking, people who can’t talk, who have impairments or complications.

I for one would share how two decades of smoking started by the bell boy shouting “Call for Philip Morris” all the way to the Marlboro Man, has now given me what I consider a debilitating or serious condition call COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. I quit smoking in July of 1991 but that was not soon enough, because now, every time I develop a bad cold or a cough, it almost always ends up with me needing to undergo a 5- to 7- day treatment of a 750mg antibiotic designed especially for upper respiratory ailments. It’s expensive but what sucks even more is gasping for air or choking when your air passages get obstructed by phlegm or mucous. Last time I had it was Nov. 15, now it feels like I have it again. It’s that bad people, it’s that bad!

So, I say to government, can we please spend some of the Sin Tax collections to advertise against smoking and drunk driving as well? I don’t think it’s in good taste for the government to collect all that money with out spending part of it to save our children and our selves from ignorance.