My 2 lives

I have been living two lives and this realization has shown me how many of us decide or come up with opinions based purely on our status in society or lifestyle and all that, sometimes or often enough, end up becoming the rules in society or even law of the land. They say that “he who has the gold makes the rules” and in a feudal society that may be so. But what about in a semi modern society where all our lives are intertwined, both the rich and the poor? Here is a classic example of how “modern society” dictates rules without recognizing the realities of those far from the urban centers or seats of power.

As an opinion writer I have often commented on how “tricycles” should be banned from national roads or highways. Many urban Filipinos who travel here and abroad share the same views and lament how the national and local government have failed to regulate tricycles on national roads. We could all say that we are on the right in the matter and we have international rules to back our views. That’s “me” the Metro Manila urbanite talking.  But last Sunday, I had lunch with my crew in Lipa, Batangas and we talked about the same subject matter. None of them had ever traveled abroad, drive a car, and chances are they would rather work than gallivant. As I shared the plans of the DILG to strictly enforce the No-Tricycle rule on highways, they started to ask: but what about us who have tricycles as “service vehicles” to go to the palengke, to take our children to school, to go to the hardware or pay bills? We don’t have cars and waiting for jeepneys take forever and will force us to walk with heavy packages and supplies? Do you know that it is cheaper for us to buy and ride our own tricycles than ride the ones for hire because they charge exorbitant fees because no one regulates them?  

This is my other life, a semi-provincial state where many neighbors use tricycles not for hire but as their service vehicles everyday of the year. In this other life, we have to buy agricultural supplies, construction materials, kitchen and household supplies using tricycles. Yes, Lipa City is modern enough to have stores such as S&R, Army Navy, and SM Mall. But one quick look at their parking lots and you will see rows of tricycles. For all intent and purposes, these tricycles are simply affordable, practical and economical. So after sitting with my farm team, I got an “In Your Face” reminder that it’s not the tricycle that’s the problem, it is the drivers and the engineering design of the DPWH that should be challenged.  In fact, the City of Lipa used to have a great system during the term of former mayor now Congresswoman Vilma Santos-Recto that solved the problem. “Ate Vi” and the city elders then had a service lane segregated purely for tricycles, multi-cabs, and deliveries. The lane had a concrete island and it only took drivers to understand and appreciate the system. What ruined it was a road-widening project where the regional DPWH demolished the concrete divider but never rebuilt it.

I really can’t understand why the DPWH dislike concrete barriers. MMDA officials have told me that it is the DPWH that has not acted on the installation of low concrete barriers for a dedicated motorcycle lane on EDSA. Concrete barriers would protect riders while keeping them in their dedicated lane. But the NCR DPWH allegedly is not acting on the suggestion or request of the IACT. Ironically, in many parts of Metro Manila as well as provincial towns and cities, you can spot “White Lines,” “Pink Lines” etc., that is meant as a lane divider for bicycles and motorcycles and tricycles. So why not space efficient, safe, and longer lasting barriers instead of paint?

As pointed out earlier by simple farm staff, the problem is not the tricycles, it’s a handful of ignorant drivers that the LTO and local traffic enforcers need to flag down or accost and lecture to stay on the right side or the imaginary tricycle lane. The problem is that the DPWH chooses to ignore and be deaf to simple suggestions until one day, columnists like myself decide to simply pick on Secretary Mark Villar just to get his attention so he in turn can get his people to act. This perhaps is the problem. We need President Duterte to make Villar realize that his team and department are slow on the job. The question is, do we have to annoy and irritate or get personal in order to get their attention? I sincerely pray to God that Sec. Mark understands that small people’s worries are just as important as Build Build Build projects. Small problems affect millions nationwide and the small problems can turn into his biggest PR nightmare when tricycles are forced off the road.

In the end, the farm folks are also entitled to move around as best they can. Simply banning them from national highways seemed like a good idea to me until I talked with the regular folks. Then I realized that tricycles are to the provinces as what motorcycles are to Metro Manila. We actually gave motorcycles a dedicated lane and the only reason it does not work is because we did not consider the opinion of riders but instead prioritized the bus companies! Lets move all the motorcycles and tricycles to the right side of the road and put up concrete barriers and speed bumps to regulate them based on engineering and not class legislation.

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