The number of death in traffic accidents in one province alone in Luzon over the week overshadowed the death toll from a powerful quake that hit Mindanao last weekend that recorded seven fatalities while more than nine persons in that road crash of vehicles perished.
While earthquake of Magnitude 6.9 that struck Davao del Sur and neighboring towns and cities last Sunday seldom occur, traffic crashes all over the country happen almost every second.
Our lawmakers in the national level should take a look at these traffic mishaps as this pose serious threat to lives and properties of passengers and motorists. This happens because we allow road maniacs who disregard the safety of others.
The national lawmaking body should create a law criminalizing driving without license similar to what City Councilor Conrado Baluran proposed. It is now approved on second reading.
While Baluran’s proposed ordinance targets motorists who cannot show any valid driver’s license when apprehended for traffic violation, it did not mention the mental capacity of a person to drive. We suggest to our Senators that they too include in the screening whether the applicant is drug dependent or has a history of mental problems.
Yung pagiging hambog o abusado ay natural sa atin, lalo na’t may angkas na ‘tsik’. But if he is a drug user or with mental problems, that is another story and the law should be passed to stop these crazy motorists to roam the streets on wheels.
Although driving is not a right but a privilege, the person to be given this privilege should still be properly screened. Let not the money talks while processing application to drive.
-o0o-
Vice President Leni Robredo (For the record, I voted for her not because my son has a property in her province but because I believed on her in carrying her duty as second highest leader-LDT) on Monday postponed announcing to the public her 40-page report on the government’s drug war as she wants to focus on the relief efforts in areas hit by earthquakes in Mindanao.
I agreed on that and I may also suggest that she no longer thinks of releasing the report she gathered so as not to add more friction to bickering between her office and the President’s.
She could keep it to herself or share this to whoever is in-charge of the drug war, and not let her ambitious opposition partners that want this government to fail, be a part of it. Alam n’yo na sa politika, lahat gagawin basta maka-isa lang.
As I look at it, this political bickering may continue until the next presidential election as both camps seem ‘pataasan pa rin ng ihi’ even at a time when many suffering people and victims of these unprecedented calamities in Mindanao continue. We look with uncertainty what could be the next worse thing to come in the coming days.
The Vice President’s spokesman, lawyer Barry Gutierrez criticized presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo for “insulting” Robredo for holding the release of her report supposed to be announced last Monday.
Panelo on Monday said the Vice President has really nothing in her hands, thus, finding it difficult to report anything.
“If Secretary Panelo didn’t understand the decision of the Vice President to postpone the release of her report after the earthquake on Sunday, maybe it’s true he has no heart and empathy for our countrymen,” Gutierrez said.
Again, my advice for both of Panelo and Gutierrez is to help in settling the misunderstanding between their two bosses instead of confusing the issue. Or manahimik na lang sila pareho if they really think of the welfare of the victims of this tragedy that has befallen Mindanao.
Magmumukhang santo pa sila sa mata ng tao.
-o0o-
The TIMES editorial X-mas Party is set to be held at lunchtime today at the conference room of the office, according to invitation we received through my Facebook from May Faco, our editorial assistant.
May there be invitation or not, I need not wait for one as anybody who is part of the reporting staff is welcome to be there.
This is a TIMES tradition that started from the first generation of this paper the last 74 years. I’m humbly proud to be a part of that old staff and still around meeting with young and aggressive present writers that continue to celebrate the practice the old hands handed them.
Merry Christmas!
