Many plans but…

“ Many are the plans of a man but it is the will of the Lord that prevails.”

That reminder comes from the Book of Proverbs 19: 21 for those of us who have many plans and especially for those in politics who have many schemes, believing in their own wisdom but never bothering to ask: Will God allow it?

The proverb came to mind as I watched news reports about the majority vote in Congress to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. I have restrained myself from commenting on the topic because I don’t know much about the Chief Justice. I did comment once that she needed to build up a communications strategy which, had she done so, might have made it a lot more difficult for her enemies to attack her. Today she remains largely a stranger to the public so there is no public support to count on. Only after the congressional hearings did people begin to get glimpses of her, mostly mismanaged and resulting in points against her.

So! Congress has had its way with Sereno. But is that the end of the story? Not necessarily.

There is still the actual Impeachment trial at the Senate and that is certainly “No Man’s Land” since the Chief Justice does have alliances if not outright supporters there. It remains to be seen if Sereno can catch the people’s imagination and admiration by portraying herself as an authority of law with the feisty indignation that we so miss from our late “Tita Miriam.” As the say: “If it’s a fight they want – then I’ll give them one.” I’m not suggesting that the Chief Justice conduct herself as a “Butangera” or street brawler. But the only way to go up or down is to have mastery of the law, logic in presentation, and an overdose of indignation! Always give what the people expect!

And if all else fails, I bet that such a performance done over 60 to 90 days in and outside the Senate will imprint such an image of the Chief Justice on the peoples’ minds that she would be a viable if not a sure win for Senator of the Republic! Crazy you say? Mind you, stranger things have happened and what better way to get back at your tormentors than to beat them up in their home court and in their own game but with greater intellect. It would be taking advantage of unarmed opponents!

So like we always say at home: “Be careful what you wish for.” God has often stripped his choices from their comfort zones only to relocate them ringside to fight battles that really count. Besides which, after Sereno leaves the Supreme Court, it will never be the same and they will be next in the agenda of critics and legislators. For sure! As for the CJ, seek the Lord’s counsel as you have never done before.

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I’ve finally taken the leap from driving my own car to riding Uber and actually doing self-check-in instead of having someone at the “office” take care of it. In truth, I don’t have a physical office; I work when and wherever I need to. At the moment my office is the waiting area of Terminal 2 as I wait for my flight to Cebu City. “The person in the office” is actually my loving and supportive wife Karen who understands my aversion and resistance to technology.

After taking Uber twice to the airport, I now know with certainty that the traditional taxi just like the jeepney has met its match and may soon be on the endangered list. Before Uber I used to pay a taxi company P600 one way for a pre-scheduled pick up to take me to NAIA. With Uber I’ve paid a little over P400 at peak hour on a Friday and last Monday morning I was charged P149.72 from Barrio Kapitolyo to NAIA 2.

Aside from clean owner driven cars, it was interesting to learn about the drivers and why they drive Uber. My first ride was actually a “Call Center agent” who works late nights to early morning and because he could not sleep on days off, he decided to be an Uber operator rather than stare at the ceiling or booze himself to sleep. My second driver on the other hand used to be in sales for alcoholic beverages. Given that sales often required him to be on the road and away from his two kids and wife, it made perfect sense to be self-employed, choose his working hours and now he can actually go on three-day vacations with his family.

I also learned that Uber has an incentive program where drivers get several thousand pesos every time they hit a quota of approximately 60 rides in five days +/-. The same happens when they book a fix number of rides within a set peak hour. This will never happen to taxi drivers who are often underpaid, “forced” to drive alternating 24-hour shifts, deducted money for SSS and PhilHealth even if those payments are never submitted as contributions.

This is one business model that the car manufacturers, DOLE and the Duterte administration should join hands in promoting to taxi drivers so they can be self employed because it is a perfect model of INCLUSIVE growth and prosperity. Instead of being employees working for already rich businessmen, politicians and celebrities running taxicabs, lets help the “poor” drivers become Uber and Grab operators. That way they get their day’s pay, can be taxpayers, SSS, Pag-Ibig and PhilHealth members without being cheated by unscrupulous employers! It’s time for the LTFRB to change its attitude and approach toward Uber and Grab and that will only happen if legislators and Malacañang officials go out of their comfort zone and book themselves the rides and learn first hand!

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