So this is it. We’re on the home stretch. In just over a week, one of you will become President-elect. Now this article may seem like the equivalent of having two seconds left in the game and taking a “Hail Mary” shot across the court when you’re two points down, but then again, just as a Sicilian is said to never refuse a request on the eve of his daughter’s wedding, a politician is said to be at their most receptive during the dying days of the campaign period. So here goes.
If you happen to win, that would mean that you have won the trust and confidence of the majority of the Filipino people. But winning trust and maintaining it are two completely different things. Just ask the outgoing president. But don’t worry. By following these simple tips, I guarantee you that you will not only keep that trust and confidence, but you will also gain the support and respect of the most underestimated bloc votes out there––the Filipino road user.
Firstly, restore order. The rest of your achievements will count for nothing if we need to compete like gladiators just to get to work in the morning. Trust me on this one. Apart from developing a solid decentralisation strategy and mass transport system, create a special task force that does nothing but enforce traffic laws as vehemently as you would any other law. I’m talking about a full military-grade assault on traffic discipline. Show them that you are as serious about restoring order on our roads as you are about your own security. Why? Because we will feel that immediately. And if we feel change, we can be a part of it.
So far traffic has been regarded as something too trivial for the president to deal with personally and has always been something delegated to much lower ranks. I would normally see the logic in that. But in our case, it is kind of like leaving a problem child alone with any random babysitter because you, as a parent, claim to have much more important things to do––like make money, keep up appearances and provide a beautiful home that your guests will be impressed by.
Everything so far has been like stapling jello to the wall. Why not try putting together an elite task force that do nothing but specialise in weeding out these vermin from our roads. Raise the fines ten-fold, give them the full support of the MMDA CCTV headquarters, pay them well enough to not be tempted by bribes, give them first class equipment like proper big bikes and send them out on the roads with body cameras to document the confrontations.
Then open up an official YouTube channel or Facebook page that includes a wall of shame and post the best clips. Douchebag counter flowing? Post it for all his friends, co-workers and his mom to see. Name names. Make dash cams mandatory on all cars and have a section there where motorists can file complaints and upload their own pictures and/or video of abusive convoys, counter-flowers, red-light beaters, intersection blockers and include a running report of how many people have been caught and how much has been raised. Believe me, this will be a hit. There are already Facebook pages making a fortune doing just this. Yours would just take it up to the next level by turning all those empty calories of likes and shares into something substantial, like prosecution.
Secondly, and I don’t mean in order of priority, get serious about the environment.
Seriously. We’re a disgrace right now. If you can’t stop global warming, at least show that you’re willing to do something to slow it down. Develop bike lanes, make cities more pedestrian friendly, and revisit the alternative fuel incentive act that eliminates the taxes on hybrids, electric vehicles (EV) or alternative-fueled vehicles and offer incentives like half price registrations and no coding.
Think about it. If you could subsidise the charges for registration, make it tax free, and exempt all hybrid and EVs from coding, wouldn’t that send the right message? Also, while we’re on it, why not make it compulsory for all new taxi and Uber franchises to use a hybrid or EV. The way I see it, without taxes, the Prius should come in at just over a million bucks. That is not too far off what some of them are already paying for an Altis; and assuming they get double the mileage, which is a fairly conservative estimate, they’ll save approximately a thousand pesos a day in gas, which should give them a return of investment on the difference in one year max.
With the taxi problem solved, the next step is to modernise the jeepneys, buses and the tricycles. Enough is enough. No politician wants to touch this because it’s considered anti poor. If that’s true, its still a whole lot better than being anti earth. Put the damn things on Electric power, LPG or CNG already. And please don’t talk to me about a lack of funds. If you can spend a couple of billion pesos on getting elected…
If we continue to act like the sick man of Asia, we will be treated like it. We need to set better standards for ourselves.
I have yet to meet a single person that said they wouldn’t buy a hybrid if the price was comparable to the full gasoline equivalent. It all comes down to cost. Someone’s got to absorb it and who better than the very people who claim to be the saviours of the world? Now’s your chance.
Thirdly, do something about those wretched buses. Please. You will not get anyone to cooperate with anything you want them to do while you have these icons of anarchy shitting all over the road and molly coddled by the authorities. Seriously. If you can just achieve this alone, your face should be stamped on the one peso coin.
Regardless of who wins and for what reason, there’s no denying that change is a word that has resonated among Filipinos both here and abroad. So much so that people are even willing to kill for it––or at least vote for someone who will. In other words, we’re literally dying to have it.
