'Mayve' and my busted headlight
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October 25, 2004
THE Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) slapped me with tickets on two separate occasions recently. I don't mind that. Besides, it was my fault.
The first was near the regional office of the Commission on Audit (COA) just after I crossed the Carmen Bridge. The RTA men signaled me to stop because of a busted headlight.
Just as I was about to hand one of the RTA men my driver's license, the traffic man, who kept on looking at his fellow traffic aides, asked if I was from the press. I nodded. He then told me he was letting me go.
Here was a law enforcer telling me to speed off as soon as he looked the other way. Reason: I was a holder of a press card. So what if I’m with the press?
Frankly, I felt insulted that the RTA man thought I would use my press card to avoid a ticket. I would have insulted him back but he was a kind-looking and -sounding fella. I also sensed that the fact that I was a press-card holder intimidated him.
Let no man ever think that newspaper people and broadcasters are exempted from traffic rules and that just because they are with the press means they can break laws and get away with it.
If media are going to be part of the solution, it’s about time we, journalists, got rid of some of the "special privileges" we have long been enjoying. Attending press conferences, getting to meet VIPs and interviewing them are enough privileges. Besides, is there anything more gratifying than to be read, be listened to and be watched, and to know that a story we broke could influence decision-makers and thus, affect people's lives? I mean, if media are going to be part of the solution, fining erring journalist-drivers is a good way to start.
I wasn't going to speed off. That didn't seem right. In fact, it's not right. For some reason, I was not my usual self that night--I was unusually not grouchy, was sensitive to other people's feelings and was careful not to repay the man's misplaced kindness with scorn. So I asked the traffic aide how much the fine was for the offense.
"A little over P100, about P150, sir," he said something to that effect.
"I think I can afford that," I told him. "You better issue me a ticket."
As soon as he did, I sped off and went straight to the RTA office the following day to pay.
I had my headlight fixed but for some reason it got busted again a few nights later and I didn't realize it until another group of RTA men signaled me to stop in Kauswagan. Bad trip!
Two police officers came to me. But this time, I was glad the men didn't ask if I was a member of the press.
I looked at the nameplate of the officer who asked for my license. It read: "Gere".
If the officer is who I think he is--Ulysses Gere, the RTA director!--I say, a job well done!
If city hall is really in need of a traffic czar, Gere is the guy.
The roads and streets of Cagayan de Oro need law enforcement. In order to enforce laws, we need an enforcer and not a traffic consultant. Does the city really need to waste money to hire a consultant just to make the RTA enforce traffic laws?
Just as I said, I don't mind being slapped with a ticket by the RTA. But I do mind going to the RTA office to make city hall richer by a few hundred pesos whenever I see double standard.
I heard a traffic aide was given a promotion for stopping and giving one of Mayor Dongkoy Emano’s children a ticket. The traffic aide, I was told, was even lauded by the mayor on air for doing what he did. Well and good.
The sad thing is, that was merely a show--meant to project a walang-kumpare-walang-kamaganak image for Mr. Emano, the politician. Why? It’s because last month I saw the driver of a jet black pick-up truck with the letters "Mayve" on its plates blatantly violate a simple traffic rule right under the noses of RTA men and before hundreds of motorists caught in a grueling traffic jam near the Nazareno Church on CM Recto Avenue.
("Mayve" stands for Mayor Vicente Emano, of course. Emano should fire the smart guy who played with the letters because "Mayve" doesn't speak well of the mayor's The Godfather image. It sounds more like "Ate Vi"--yes, as in Vilma Santos!--or something. Darna!)
There was no way of telling if Mayor Emano was in the vehicle--everyone knows the mayor has been defying the ban on heavy tints. The only sign of an Emano presence was that "Mayve" was being followed by a back-up vehicle with bodyguards at that time.
The security aides at the back of the second vehicle signaled me to give way as Emano’s car made a cut from the right to the left lane before taking an illegal left turn toward Capt. Vicente Roa Street. No traffic man signaled Emano's vehicles to stop. All these were done just so they can skip the traffic jam.
There I was caught in an atrocious traffic jam and poorer by a few hundred pesos because one of my headlights was busted. Twice I got a ticket and yet no RTA man dared to blow a whistle when the drivers of Emano openly broke a no-left turn rule.
It's unfair that ordinary people with busted headlights are being fined just so city hall can raise funds to pay Mr. Emano's P100-million loan from DBP while powerful people are making a mockery out of our traffic laws.
In fact, I think it's unfair that Emano is exempted even from Cagayan de Oro's traffic jams.
Why should the mayor enjoy an exemption? It's supposedly Emano's job to make driving in Cagayan de Oro a little less annoying but since he failed, the least he can do is join us--in the traffic jams, that is.
Right? "Mayve".
Pastilan.
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