Update on our petition - Aug 19, 2019

Hi All,

Our online petition got some support and was featured in today's issue (Aug 19, 2019 page A17) of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI). We would like to thank Ms. Krixia Subingsubing of the said newspaper for featuring it.  It was really a very big step. Through it, we are able to reach to more people and explain our cause and our intention. 

I was also interviewed by Ms. Athena Imperial of GMA 7 but when the interview was shown, they showed their interview with MMDA last.  MMDA gave its arguments against our petition but we did not have any chance to reply to it.  With this, I’ll just update the petition so I could reply to their arguments:

Argument #1:

Argument: They are amenable to giving additional lanes.  The problem is discipline.

Reply: If they are really amenable with the additional lanes, why don't they show their sincerity by giving it a try and let the public experience it?  If there are 5 lines, 3 lanes should be for the buses and 2 for the private cars.  If there are 6 lanes, 4 lanes should be for the buses and 2 for the private cars.  This will make the lanes for the buses go faster.  Hopefully, more private car owners would want to take the bus.  We want to make the use of buses as the first option so much that even the government officials and employees would prefer using buses.

If the problem is discipline, then it is the MMDA and the enforcers' job to enforce this.  Otherwise, who will?

Maybe some bus drivers get out of the yellow lane; maybe some private car owners get inside the yellow lane. Maybe some commuters jaywalk.  Maybe some park illegally.  What should we do?   Complain?  Use "lack of discipline" as an excuse and say nothing can be done?  It is the job of the enforcers to enforce discipline.  If they can't enforce it and say “lack of discipline” can’t be solved, then what are they doing in their offices? What are they being paid for?

If a bus driver, a private car driver, a commuter, a vendor or anybody is apprehended for committing a violation, what will make him do it again and again?  He will only do it again if the enforcers don't do their job, are not consistent with it or if, for some reason, they let him get away with it.

I don't know where I read it, pero kailangan ng sistema at disiplina. Sistema para maayos ang injustice sa EDSA (where the private cars are prioritized) at disiplina para ma-enforce ang mga patakaran (walang lagayan, walang enforcers na hindi nanghuhuli ng violation). These two are needed to fix EDSA, not one or the other.

Argument # 2:

Argument: The yellow lane is not an experiment.  It has been existing since the time of the former Chairman Bayani Fernando.  They just strictly implemented it.

Reply: We are not saying the yellow lane policy is a new policy.  It is you who are saying you simply enforced it.  It's an admission therefore that you have not been implementing the existing laws.  This is a disease we have to cure.  Why are there illegally parked cars? Why are there illegal vendors? Why are there jaywalkers? Why do private cars go inside the yellow lane? Why do buses pick up in no loading areas? This is what is causing the chaos and the "lack of discipline".  The public does not know if a policy is in force or not.  The experiment here really is if MMDA will implement a policy and do its job or not.

Again, we cannot rely on excuses or putting blames.  We cannot blame the volume of the cars for us not to doing anything or not to limit them.  We cannot blame the violations being committed for not doing what is the best for the majority.  If there is a will for us to make traffic flow faster – not for the private cars, but for the majority - then we can do it.  We all need sacrifice, we all need to be selfless, we all need to work for us to get this done.  I hope everyone will be willing to do his share to achieve this. Thank you.