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Egay Uy

THE Cocpo Traffic Unit has been conducting traffic control operation at the Bugo and Puerto areas to control what appears to be an uncontrolled proliferation of prohibited vehicles on highways, such as “motorized sikads” or “kuliglig” or “trisikad.”  Under the law, these contraptions are prohibited on highways, not without good reasons.

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The proliferation of these prohibited contraptions on city roads and national highways may be attributed to the neglect of some barangay officials who issue permits to the operators even as they are supposed to be clearly aware of the prohibitions.

Besides, the improperly issued permits give the permittees the wrong impression that their acts are legal, thanks to incompetent or over-politicized public officials.

The prohibition against operating these contraptions in highways and other fast-moving roads [e.g., “trisikads” are prohibited in Barangays 1 to 40] may be deduced as a protection against fatal or crippling injuries not only to the drivers but to their passengers.

Under the Local Government Code, barangay officials are mandated to assist the City Mayor implement laws within their respective jurisdictions.  But are all of them doing it?

Except for some barangay officials who look beyond the color of politics, there are those who disregard the rule of law, as exemplified by the issuance of permits to the said contraptions to be operated on highways and city roads.

One barangay chairman was reported to have said, “Makadaot ni sa inyong administrasyon” when drivers of those contraptions were apprehended and were required to attend a seminar at the RTA office, adding the oft abused justification, “Nanginabuhi ra na sila.”

I don’t know if it is human nature to simply pass the buck to somebody else.  Or is it simply ineptness and incompetence at play.

Just when will some public officials learn to respect and obey the law, not even implement them, is anybody’s guess.  They are the kind of public officials who fit squarely in “We get the kind of government that we vote for.”

(Egay Uy is a lawyer, a city hall consultant, and chairman of Task Force Hapsay Dalan.)

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