Time for laws that say no garage, no car!

As a columnist of the Philippine STAR that got himself involved in the cleanup of Manila Bay… I did get a lot of emails sent to me, usually congratulatory for having written about this enormous problem. But here’s a lengthy one that I felt I should reprint for our readers to take note.

“Dear Mr. Avila, I wrote this letter to personally thank you for your column, “Manila Bay clean-up,” that shook and stirred almost everyone especially the concerned government agencies. I’ve been regularly following your column in the Philippine STAR for years now and I like your style in bringing up relevant issues be it local or national in scope. Somehow it awakens the minds not only of our government leaders or elected officials but also those in the private sectors urging them to take necessary steps/actions on matters that need their utmost attention for the good of the community and for our country as a whole.

Recently your columns repeatedly deal on the cleanup of Manila Bay that undeniably stinks for decades. I’m so pleased that you brought up this issue because we saw a light at the end of the tunnel in our effort, for quite sometime now, to encourage people to help us in our cause in protecting our marine life, and for the government to do something about the abuse of mankind to our environment. You see, we are an organization where one of our advocacies is marine environmental protection.

I’m one of the active members of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), I don’t know if you heard of it, who for more than four decades now have been assisting the Philippine Coast Guard, as our mission, in promoting safety of life at sea, in the preservation of the maritime environment and its resources, the conduct of maritime search and rescue, engage in maritime safety activities, such as monitoring of aids to navigation equipment and such other activities that enhance maritime community relations which include civic action, participation under the NSTP, youth development, recreational safety and other related activities. 

Probably only a few knew that our organization exists for these noble reasons, and our presence and services spread from Aparri to Jolo. Our projects are being funded only from the annual membership dues of our members, and yet we survive up to the present to support and help our government, in our own little way, address  not only the issue on how to preserve our marine environment, but the vision and mission of our organization. 

Just a bit of information, PCGA for more than 40 years now has been cleaning regularly not only the Manila Bay coastal line, but also the shorelines on where our organization are located, especially during the yearly International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) that happens every 3rd Saturday of September. Looking on to the worsening situation of the Manila Bay area and the rest of the shorelines of the archipelago, the PCGA leadership considered the clean-up drive nationwide as a mandatory monthly activity for over five years now to set an example and to show awareness to others on what we are doing to our environment, and hoping against hope that they may follow suit. 

Well, not necessarily on where our activities are, but just simply in their own backyard and surroundings so that the thrash may not reach any longer the bay area. But it seems people are callous to our cause and maybe nobody cares anymore for our marine environment. Passive attitude prevails. 

Until recently, lo and behold, your column appeared. Today we have seen the fruits of our labor, thus the more we will be inspired to sustain the mission we started two scores ago and support the government in their effort to never allow again the rubbish to be flushed out to Manila Bay. Mabuhay ka Sir Bobit. To know more about PCGA, go to our website. Sincerely, VADM DANILO G CABALDE, PCGA Past National Director (2012- 2014).

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If there is any Senate bill that might become the law of the land, it is Senate Bill No. 201 of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian because apparently even the House of Representatives are thinking along the same lines and started their own process of having a bill which would require prospective vehicle owners to present proof that they have a parking space or garage for their new automobiles, thus clear the side streets of obstructions. 

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian says his proposed measure, also known as the Proof-of-Parking Space Act, would help ease traffic congestion in the country and considers the bill to be quite relevant at this time, since this will instil a culture of responsible vehicle ownership among Filipinos. Mind you, this law was enacted in Japan in the year 1962. But it had a twin brother in the Law… the total ban on overnight parking. If these laws are enacted together, the Philippines would finally get to solve its major parking issues that have hounded Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and I’m sure it is happening to Metro Davao City. So let’s move forward to a more livable Metropolis and enact this law and make a better, more responsible country.

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Email: [email protected]