Discourtesy plates

The Land Transportation Office has time and again shown political will by immediately revoking the driver’s license of celebrity and “criminal” personalities within days of a complaint. But it’s a completely different story when it comes to retrieving or confiscating the courtesy #8 plates they issued to members of Congress who are no longer in office. I vaguely remember at least three recent occasions where the #8 plates were used by unauthorized personnel such as relatives or remain in use by former members of Congress themselves.

This week some criminal pretender once again used the #8 plate and typified arrogance by beating up a fellow driver on the road. He is not a member of Congress and so far no one has recognized him to be a direct relation of any former or current Congressman. In the course of their investigation, the PNP as well as the LTO should press hard to find out where the #8 plate came from and how the pretender or unauthorized user got hold of the plates. This is the sort of thing that the LTO and the minions at DOTr should look into instead of picking on 4X4 owners and drivers who invest money to install accessories on their cars for better and safer driving.

First of all, why are those #8 plates printed without an expiry period since members of Congress only have three-year term limits? In the old days when LTO printed their own plates, I remember those special plates indicate the province and/or district of the privileged Congressman which actually served to make the user conscious of their driving and behavior. At the very least, all courtesy plates should have a visible serial number that can be seen on CCTVs so the next time another self entitled bully decides to use them, it will be easier to track ownership and accountability for those Discourtesy Plates! Finally the LTO should have a condition to the issuance of such plates; they should be surrendered at the end of term or the vehicle’s registration will be disallowed or placed on hold.

Frankly, the LTO bosses should grow some spine and simply propose a ban or a stop to the printing of courtesy car plates for all government officials. Just because the west does it, does not mean we should carry on with a tradition and a privilege that stinks of elitism and discrimination. The LTO calls them courtesy plates but in actual reality they have symbolized discourtesy to the taxpayers who don’t get the same special treatment and end up being mistreated by the bullies with #8 plates!

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The minions at the DOTR have done it again.

After causing quite a storm on Facebook for their stubborn but indefensible stand against 4x4 modifications and accessories, the minions were dumbfounded and “stupidified” in Congress when asked to explain why special City Bus franchises totaling 300 buses were being issued knowing this would defy and defeat the very reason why the government spent millions of pesos building the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).

The City Bus franchise would allow the privileged 300 to by-pass the PITX and give them undue advantage over all the other bus operators who cannot enter Metro Manila. The real jawbreaker was when one of their own, LTFRB Board Member Atty. Aileen Lizada raised the very same question at a recent congressional hearing. Like most of us, Lizada wanted to know what the logic and justification were for issuing the 300 special City Bus franchises. I suppose that while there is only one “Board” at the LTFRB, there are apparently many different agendas.

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Speaking of different agendas, the minions at the DOTr dug themselves into a mud pit trying to defend a memorandum order concerning 4X4s and vehicle modifications. That stupidity led to the revelation that the DOTR can write out orders about technical things they or the LTO have no real training or expertise on. After causing a firestorm on social media and the news, the people concerned sat down with stakeholders and solicited comments, suggestions and position papers to be used by the LTO Technical Working Group that is tasked to write down the guidelines on vehicle modifications.

What no one is talking about the people who were flagged down by the IACT / Highway Patrol/ LTO for modifications and accessories. In case you’re one of the victims, I strongly urge you to go to your lawyer and study the possibility of filing cases with the Ombudsman against these individuals who arrested, ticketed, or confiscated accessories from your vehicle given that there was no actual technical guideline to support the DOTR memorandum order. It’s like passing a law but never coming out with its IRR or Implementing Rules and Regulations.  I really hope one of those people who had to surrender their LED/HD bars, snorkel etc. sues and wins the case because it will teach law enforcement units that their actions must stand on legal grounds that they took time to read, study and learn!

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The management of the Skyway toll road are seriously pushing to ban buses on the Skyway since data show that provincial buses have the highest number of vehicular accidents or incidents among users. Another reason why banning provincial buses on the Skyway may be unavoidable is because the Skyway starts at Alabang, Muntinlupa that is very much Metro Manila. If the MMDA and the IACT are serious about banning buses within Metro Manila, it is only logical that they should never even get close or be on the Skyway. Another irritant among motorists is that from time to time these buses line up on the ETC or Electronic Toll lane but don’t have enough load and cause delay because they pay P1000 bills. I feel bad for commuters but they would really be safer at ground level than on the Skyway especially during rainy days and strong winds! Perhaps it’s time to give trucks and buses and delivery vans their yellow lane on SLEX and NLEX?

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