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Opinion

Two birds with one stone backfired

CTALK - Cito Beltran - The Philippine Star

Being able “to hit two birds with one stone” is such an ideal event that anyone who gets the chance will surely take it. But the reality is many more have missed than have hit the target.

In the case of DOTr Secretary Jimmy Bautista, he never had a chance to take the shot, suffered the consequences and ended up being a major loss for the people of Metro Manila.

Just before he reportedly got “sick and (re)tired,” Secretary Jimmy Bautista had a plan to hit two birds with one stone. Sec. Jimmy was going to add more carriers per train on the MRT line which could absorb all the passengers taking the buses along EDSA.

Once people shift from buses to MRT, the MMDA and the DPWH could totally remove the dedicated bus lane, give back EDSA to drivers and relieve traffic congestion. In addition, it would remove safety concerns created by bus passengers using MRT passages.

It seems that many of the bus passengers are using stairs meant for fire and safety evacuation of the MRT and are disruptive of the designed passenger flow of stations. That was the two birds with one stone plan.

Unfortunately, when the MMDA shared the plan of removing the dedicated bus lane haphazardly, it alarmed a bunch of cronies that wanted to take over the MRT. Another group planning to corner the privatization of the EDSA Bus Carousel were understandably displeased with the announcement.

If the MRT upgrade actually worked and absorbed the volume of passengers from the EDSA bus lane, the value of the MRT would radically increase. That in turn would raise the bidding price and acquisition cost to take over the MRT operations.

The privatization of the EDSA bus lane, on the other hand, has long been masterminded at the DOTr ever since they came up with the PUV modernization and the EDSA bus lane. The idea, I am told, is “matira ang matibay” or survival of the fittest.

Whoever wins the privatization of the EDSA bus lane effectively has the upper hand in setting up a monopoly of the buses servicing the bus lane by virtue of operator’s rights or through the rates they impose on buses operating on the carousel.

According to a lawyer very familiar with operating bus companies, many “city” bus operators have gone belly up because of the approval of thousands of ride hailing and motorcycle taxi units.

Many public utility vehicle operators have long suspected that the modernization program was more a plot to drive small owners and operators into extinction by forcing the issue of modernization without just compensation or financial assistance.

The probable outcome will be a monopoly of buses on EDSA, mobile advertising, the certainty of higher fares with the government providing subsidy for riders. In the end, whoever gets the bus lane will own the buses and the jackpot EDSADY or subsidy.

To complete the narrative, sources close to the DOTr community claim that the new Secretary Vince Dizon is expected to announce the return of the comeback of former associates during the “Tugade period” at the DOTr.

Meanwhile, people are placing bets on who will take over the MRT and who will win the EDSA privatization. Will they be the same groups represented in the PSAC or Private Sector Advisory Councils or is it the Private Sector Advantaged Corporations?

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Still on pronouncements made by Secretary Vince Dizon, netizens surprisingly corrected the secretary when he commented that enforcing cashless system on expressways was “anti-poor.”

“How can you call it anti-poor when everybody who uses expressways pay and have money to pay the tollways?” Another called Dizon “anti-progress.” While a lawyer pointed out that paying cash is a right by virtue of cash being legal tender.

As for the privatization of the EDSA bus lane, I really wonder if the DOTr can pull it off, considering the fact that EDSA has been built with taxpayers’ money and is part of what is paid for by the Road Users Tax. It’s not some government facility or building; it is public space.

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The dengue outbreak in QC was like a nuclear bomb that sent shockwaves all the way to Malacañang. Word is no less than President Bongbong Marcos showed interest and concern and asked about the status of the dengue vaccine.

Unfortunately, there is suspicion that the President got the same dribble or “de-kahon” information that the DOH and FDA have been giving the last four months. The latest spin added to the DOH narrative is that the manufacturers don’t have approval in Singapore and the United States.

They conveniently forgot to mention in their releases and interviews that the vaccine under review is approved and in use in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru and Argentina as well as used in EU.

A little research and inquiry will show that Singapore has extremely fewer dengue cases than the Philippines. In 2024, Singapore had 12,000 dengue cases while the Philippines had 420,000 cases and around 1,000 deaths. The Philippines has four types of dengue, Singapore has only two types of dengue.

This selective justification on the part of the DOH and FDA brings to mind the Filipino saying or kasabihan: “Kung gusto, may paraan. Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan” (“If there’s a will, there’s a way. Where there’s a won’t there’s a don’t”).

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E-mail: utalk2ctalk@gmail.com

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