Citizen D.I.Y

“If you want something done, go do it yourself.”

I Googled that phrase to find out exactly who came up with it and the original version is credited to Frenchman/ Bureaucrat/ writer Charles Guillaume Étienne (1778 – 1845). Having held several local positions during the period of the French Revolution I surmise that Étienne discovered that the revolution does not provide competent people or ready solutions. Somewhere during his life, Étienne also learned that if anything was to get done, he or whoever was in place had to do it themselves and not rely on others or the leaders of the revolution.

We in the Philippines are similarly situated in the sense that the election of President Rodrigo Duterte is a modern day form of political revolt by the masses. The last elections may have rewritten politics as we knew it, but it does not cancel out all the problems created by previous administrations, politicians and society at large. By this time in fact, we the citizens should have realized that in order for things to get done, we have to do things ourselves. I call it “Citizen D.I.Y”

I have always believed in D.I.Y or Do It Yourself. Time and again I have cautioned friends not to place their trust or bet on politicians to improve your life or your business. Policies may affect your forecast; cost or profits but no politician or government will make you rich. They can add to the ease of doing business but not directly to your profits or sales.

Last week MMDA Chairman Tim Orbos validated my view on “Citizen D.I.Y” when he shared that whatever improvement on traffic management has been achieved, it happened through the sacrifice or cooperation of the public, specifically stakeholders or people whose lives or business affects and is affected by traffic. The Duterte Government has not yet spent huge amounts of money and the MMDA is still operating on what is on the ground with the same undermanned staff as before. The X – percent reduction in vehicle volume was achieved through the expanded number coding system with no window hours. That happened because all motorists using the major highways cooperated and followed the rule. We simply made adjustments. Media kept quiet and let people decide the matter.

The Malls agreed not to have weekday “madness sale’s” and they also agreed to open one hour later during the holidays and I think even up to now. This certainly opened up or freed up more roads and reduced traffic congestion. Even delivery vans and trucks agreed to reduce their day-time deliveries and make adjustments for night-time deliveries instead. No one declared bankruptcy or financial losses. (Since this worked so well, why not promote more nighttime deliveries so we can really have a 24-hour economy?

The bus operators complied with Nose-in/Nose-out entry and exit at bus stations, started keeping their buses indoors while others limited their operations outside Metro Manila limits using the government mandated terminal for loading and unloading. They may not have liked the idea at first but did they really have a choice. In fact, I suspect that if the government invested on several quality terminals like they have for air and sea, bus operators would sooner give up their current locations, save millions and millions of pesos from not having to pay bribes to corrupt local officials and law enforcers. They would earn more!

I made a suggestion to one of the officials to try to get Jeepney groups to agree or try a plan that would limit or cut the number of stops – loading and unloading of Jeepneys perhaps connecting to where tricycle stops are located instead of wherever there is a passenger waving to get on or to get off. This could be their contribution to “Citizen D.I.Y.”

The big question is: will the Duterte government continue relying on the people making the sacrifices as reflected on plans to impose various taxes, or can President DU30 make each and every cabinet member come up with REAL PLANS and REAL PROGRAMS whether a 3-point or 10-point agenda of things people need and want for themselves and from the DU30 government. We have heard enough wish lists and gone through their bucket lists but nothing “targeted” with intentionality, design and funding.

The DU30 administration has excelled at fighting the illegal drugs menace and as a result substantially reduced criminality. Now the people need to know what they can look forward to, hope on or hope for and count on the Duterte administration to accomplish in terms of the economy and business.

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There is nothing more disarming, humbling and challenging than to be in the company of “Special Children,” Children with Disabilities or kids faced with debilitating illnesses. Even those with hearts of stone start to tear up, and tough guys suddenly connect to the child in them. But none of that compares to being the parent of such a child especially if you are a single parent, financially challenged, unemployed or simply broke and broken from the expenses that go into medical bills, therapy etc. The closest I’ve been in this situation is with my nieces and with a couple of members of our extended family.

Everybody needs help and everybody needs a break, which is why I would like to extend a personal invitation to our readers to attend the benefit concert staged by the Center For Possibilities on Saturday January 28, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the RCBC Plaza in Makati. Entitled “Soundtracks and Symphonies” the concert will feature the Manila Symphony Orchestra playing movie themes from the works of Henry Mancini, John Williams, and Ennio Morricone among others. There will also be an art exhibit by “SAMANTHA” a 19-year-old autistic girl who will be representing the Philippines to the Fashion Arts Autism Benefit event in New York City.

For tickets, reservations and particulars kindly contact Maricar Diokno at 02-723-1242 or 0918-888-1759. Give yourself a break on the 28th and help the children and their families attain the possibilities. Congratulations to my good friend Ms. Dody Cheng and all the Moms and Dads at the Center For Possibilities who don’t dwell on the problem but look up to the possibilities.

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