Good example not goodwill

La Salle Greenhills management found themselves under the microscope so to speak after it was revealed that five MMDA traffic enforcers were receiving a daily allowance of P50 a day per person in consideration of their work in managing traffic in front of the school along Ortigas Avenue. As a result, one of the enforcers confessed that the enforcers were being lax or tolerant of drivers who violated traffic and parking rules which is the cause of traffic jams in the area.

In their defense, La Salle officials stated that they were merely providing the meal allowance as a gesture of appreciation and goodwill. It is not new and not uncommon. I know for a fact that other establishments pay monthly dues to brokers with the MMDA anywhere from 10 to 20 thousand a month that is far bigger than what La Salle gives. I’m sure the act of goodwill from La Salle helped the enforcers but now all of them will get suspended and one or two will be terminated. As they say “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” but in this case the road is Ortigas and the MMDA enforcers are currently going through a personal hell.

* * *

As I suggested in my title, what La Salle and all of us should be doing is setting “Good examples and not goodwill.” For starters, establishments and institutions need to be proactive and tell clients, customers, students and especially parents that we need to set the examples for discipline, obedience and humility. Even on the weekends especially Sundays, I find it ironic that church goers will illegally park, block driveways, or disregard signs just so they won’t have to walk very far to attend mass or church service! The term that Jesus Christ would use to call us out is “HYPOCRITE.” I wonder if people realize that we are literally “Breaking and Entering” by breaking the law first and then entering God’s house after!

Yes the “issue” or the heat may soon pass or it might not. But we cannot call ourselves “Christians” – “Catholics” – “Educated” if we are the first to violate laws for convenience sake or by omission. A number of parents and vehicle owners don’t even monitor vehicles and drivers of La Salle students. It might be a good start for the school and others in the same situation to actively enforce rules, monitor and list down drivers/parents who disregard the effort towards order and discipline and then call each of them to the principal’s office along with the student. If anything, the annoying inconvenience and embarrassment of being called to the Principal’s office or the Guidance Counselor to talk about their transgression or aggression. That is of course if the offices concerned are interested in doing something that is outside their fence.

Considering that the traffic problem has long been in existence but La Salle Ortigas has not stood out as being pro-active on the matter, perhaps it is time for local and national officials and the MMDA to give La Salle an ultimatum to sacrifice space, put in engineering solutions or force vehicles to go around and around several kilometers or drop off students based on a staggered schedule like other schools are doing. 

Legislators may also want to place a “GROWTH CAP” on schools based on their impact to community or environment. Every year private schools raise tuition fees but nobody checks their increase in the number of enrollees. A growth cap should now be put in place because many schools have gone vertical to accommodate more students but the growth is not compatible with public infrastructure and urban management.

Whatever they do, La Salle and the rest of us have to set “good examples” because if we don’t others will get dragged into the issue. Yesterday several radio announcers were already citing the fact that many other schools like ICA, Xavier, and Lourdes etc., are the cause of traffic jams in their area.

* * *

 “A bigger person would take the blow for the President.” If Police Superintendent Marvin Marcos gives a damn about the reputation and credibility of President Rodrigo Duterte as well as the PNP, Supt. Marvin Marcos should simply thank the President for his support but walk away from the service or take the hit on his own. That in effect is the sentiment being expressed by officials of the PNP.

Colleagues of Police Superintendent Marvin Marcos are seriously concerned and talking about how the legal issues of the beleaguered cop is beginning to affect the morale and attitude of officers of the PNP and hanging on the President like dead weight. Time and again, President Duterte has defended Supt. Marcos but the longer the issue drags the more critics come to the surface particularly because the findings of the PNP Internal Affairs Service and the National Bureau of Investigation concur that there was criminal conspiracy to rub out Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte.

Until Supt. Marcos mans up, chances are one Undersecretary of the DOJ and one judge will soon be taking the hit for Marcos. Even PNP Chief Bato Dela Rosa’s credibility has been taking hits and is being undermined among his men. Several Senators are stepping up to correct what they believe is a serious miscarriage of justice when the charges of murder against Marcos and his men were downgraded to homicide. Sooner or later more legislators and critics will find their voices and force the President into a corner to remind him that he promised to support those who do their jobs right but not those who carried out their work in the worst possible way.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]