Duterte’s ‘pangkurat’ and mass transport options

CAPILLAS

Somehow, President Rodrigo Duterte’s assurance to the Malacañang Press Corps that he is “not their enemy” isn’t all that reassuring given the spate of developments over the past few months.

Notably one such development, however minor it may be in the whole scheme of things by this administration, is the appointment of a certain entertainer/blogger whose troll army had taken on mainstream media and seeks not only to undermine but place it under their thumbs.

I know that the Malacañang Press Corps remembers all too well Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson’s, of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, attempt to place the online news website Rappler under her office by reasoning that Rappler is a social media site of which she has jurisdiction over.

Uson’s takeover attempt is likely what Visayans call “pangkurat” or what I could best define as a “come-from-behind sneak attack” meant to surprise, shock and intimidate someone into submission and compliance.

I guess that best describes what this administration is about as President Duterte, like all his predecessors before him, doesn’t want his critics and political rivals to see and anticipate his moves.

That is political reality, but when one president has so much power that he can declare martial law even without the consent of Congress and threaten to demote the country’s chief justice into becoming a mere subaltern who holds umbrellas to provide shade for him and his lackeys, then that is alarming to say the least.

And with the President receiving the green light from his “supermajority” allies in Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao to an indefinite date, no amount of singing and dancing by him and his Palace subalterns can assure those uneasy over this development especially mainstream media that he won’t pull a fast one over them and silence them into submission with the iron fist of martial law.

* * *

It’s hard to argue with Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s point that the law should serve the people and not the other way around in relation to his argument for the continued operation of the motorcycle-for-hire app Angkas at least in Cebu City.

It’s more difficult to argue with those who have benefited from Angkas’ service and vouched for its reliability in transporting their passengers to and from their destination at the speediest and most convenient time possible despite the heavy traffic congestion in the Queen City of the South.

I haven’t tried out Angkas yet, but I have ridden motorcycles-for-hire or habal-habal as they are called. And so far, I found it not only convenient but useful especially during the holidays when jeepneys and taxis compete for precious limited road space even on supposedly lean traffic days.

Habal-habals are usually my only mass transport option left whenever Sinulog comes around since I pass through Fuente Osmeña Circle which becomes this huge, public market/circus like transshipment point for revelers and residents alike.

I remember all too well how on Sinulog eve, the habal-habal driver had to weave carefully in between vehicles and the crowd of revelers that run the gamut from cheery and drunk, to cheery and stoned or both — I can’t tell amid the noise they make and their sheer number.

What I do remember once was riding a taxi that made its way to the crowd at Mango Square on Sinulog eve and one underage girl slamming her face on the window and asking me in a slurred voice if I had anything to drink.

Based on those experiences, I do hope that Angkas is allowed to operate in Cebu City and that habal-habal drivers and operators see the mayor’s support as incentive for them to regulate and professionalize their operations and to rid their ranks of unscrupulous drivers who can not only ruin their rep but also victimize their passengers.

* * *

I read about the Senate public transportation committee hearing, and while I do agree that small operators should be allowed to continue to operate their passenger jeepneys so long as they’re functional, it should not be used as an excuse for them not to acquire better units in order to service the riding public.

Granted that a lot of them cannot afford to purchase and acquire those modernized jeepneys being promoted by manufacturers, there’s nothing that stops them from joining or forming cooperatives that can purchase these units and pay for them at a reasonably priced payment scheme agreed on with the government.

I did notice that those militant transport groups like Piston are somewhat modifying their tune by acknowledging that while they are not against the modernization of mass transport, they are against the “corporativization” or the dominance of Big Business in mass transport which they said would raise fares beyond the reach of the common person.

At least they do recognize public sentiment and complaints about riding dilapidated, barely functional jeepneys driven by abusive drivers — some of whom may be within their ranks — that, if allowed to go on, may lead to accidents that can claim lives, or continue to become eyesores that pollute the streets.

Bottom line, the welfare of the riding public should be of paramount interest and priority not only by the government and its transport agencies but by the operators and drivers of mass transport vehicles who owe their livelihood to the public and not the other way around.