Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement

When the “guilty” party tells us why they commit the sin or the infraction, you almost wonder what those in government are doing to deal with them. Now that they face the threat of a P1-million  fine for driving colorum units, many transportation leaders are up in arms shouting, declaring and actually confessing that the problem behind traffic violations is the problem of “enforcement.” However they want to define or interpret the problem of enforcement, one thing that almost all Filipinos agree on is that the reason Filipinos intentionally violate traffic laws is because there is NO ENFORCEMENT.

Once upon a time before the “de-militarization” of law enforcement took place after EDSA- 1 revolution, the national government and its agencies had numerous law enforcement groups that really emphasized enforcement. Yes, we got our freedom back after EDSA 1 but we lost our law and order as well as many specialized law enforcement units dedicated to traffic management and laws.

Just to drive the point home, during a motoring forum hosted by the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) members of media pressured an official of the MMDA in charge of enforcement to explain why the MMDA does not arrest violators on C-5 particularly motorcycle riders who don’t even stay in their lane. Without any hesitation, the officer said they simply gave up trying and were concentrating on more important things. He may as well have told us that they couldn’t be bothered!

There is no enforcement of traffic laws in the Philippines because this has been replaced by PROTECTION as in: protection from arrest, protection to conduct illegal business with unregistered illegal vehicles, protection from national agencies such as the LTO, LTFRB, MMDA, DENR etc. The protectors, ladies and gentlemen, are usually mayors, members of the city council, officials and lackeys in the Traffic Parking Management Offices, Police Traffic Bureau and corrupt barangay officials who turn a blind eye in order to find favor and votes from jeepney drivers and tricycle drivers in their district!  This systemic corruption is the primary root of corruption in our society. Sadly national leaders treat it like some backyard variety problem that is too small for them to be concerned with and assume that as long as people can still travel there is no serious problem.

Thanks to the only functioning branch of the DOTC, the LTFRB has somehow brought back some fear of the law on the part of bus drivers and bus operators. With the P1-million  fine, the LTFRB is actually spreading the net towards the mini-me versions of buses which are the “UV Express,” most of whom have no franchise, no centralized registry or records with the LTFRB, and are either owner operated or driven by people who don’t have formal training as public utility drivers. They are also commonly observed as the faster vehicles among commuters. While they have certainly evolved with their own system and service to the public, many are “colorum” because there are reportedly no more franchises available. Question is when will the government go after the King of the Road?

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Is the “Garlic Crisis of 2014” actually a scam to justify giving an association of garlic growers the right to import garlic? Is everything we hear and see being done about garlic and garlic prices simply an engineered crisis to justify giving rights to import just like the government has given to sugar planters and barons in the Marcos era? At a time when FOOD SECURITY is considered a very serious matter, it is evident that people in the Department of Agriculture have not understood the risks and attendant threats that import dependency can cause on Philippine food security. What we should be working on is solving the crisis locally and not artificially through importation.

Yes, we need some stop gap measure but can the two heads of the DA please promise that the right to import will be a “one-time” permit and not some exclusive right given to a privileged few? I have no bone to pick with any association or group, but I am so afraid that in time the so-called garlic farmers will simply decide to be traders just like a number of sugar planters whose lands lay idle because they import sugar which is of course a lot easier and cheaper for them but dangerous for the nation.

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In the very few times I’ve worked with Secretary Gregory Domingo of the DTI, I know that he has been trying his best to get the country “on the map” in terms of trade and investments. In fact, Secretary Domingo has spent a lot of time and energy travelling just to “sell” the Philippines in several roadshows etc. Unfortunately it seems that while the Sec was away, his people at the DTI have overlooked the “political” importance for the DTI to be seen, heard, and felt in matters that directly affect consumers.

The last two weeks have certainly been a public and media nightmare for the DTI, not because they’re not doing anything, but because they are not “seen” or “heard of” doing something. What started the scrimmage with media was when some DTI underling allegedly said that the price of garlic and rice was a concern of the Department of Agriculture and not the DTI. Big media mistake to make. Why do you think the previous DTI Secretary went out of his way to brand himself as Mr. Palengke? Because when after all is said and done, the international roadshows don’t get as much press as market prices and consumer threats do.

If Secretary Domingo wants to recover some of the lost PR, he should send out teams to check the quality of meat and chicken being sold by many grocery chains. We’ve seen and heard of instances where the meats have been in freezers for so long the meat is so dry. Then there is the suspicion of air travellers regarding weigh scales at airports particularly of a certain Budget Airline that constantly challenges and checks bags for overweight. In construction, who determines the sizing for gravel and sand? Addressing these day to day concerns of consumers could get Domingo elected as Senator without trying!