Who enforces the anti-noise ordinance?
The headline news of the Cebu Daily News last Monday screamed "Uphold the Rule of Law." It was a message for incoming President-elect Mayor Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte by Cebuano Church and Human Rights advocates to warn him that we must uphold the rule of law, and not do shortcuts in dispensing justice. Of course I still believe that we are a nation of laws and not of men! So have things already changed?
I'm glad that our Church leaders want our government to uphold the rule of law and I dare say that it is high time that the Cebu Archdiocese do something about those chapels along the national roads, which double as mortuaries for the poor, using the street for their nightly vigils and causing traffic congestion and breaking the law. Perhaps the Cebu Archdiocese should issue an edict to all priests not to celebrate funeral masses for those chapels facing the road. This is one way that the Catholic Church can help our national and local government bring sanity back into our streets!
Last week, I encountered one on my way to Manila along Plaridel Street in Mandaue City where two white tents took at least one lane from the main road going towards the airport because of a wake. On top of that tent was a poster of the Liberal Party of incoming mayor Luigi Quisumbing. I posted that photo on my Facebook page and on my return flight to Cebu, I bumped into outgoing Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and showed him this photo and told him in no uncertain terms that with traffic congestion already at a critical state in Mandaue City, this practice should be stopped. And this also goes for the Catholic Church to find new areas where they could build new chapels that won't obstruct traffic.
Speaking of following the rule of law, last Monday, The Freeman featured a story on its "Ear" Section entitled "Make some noise" This was about a neighborhood association holding a diskoral for the San Juan Bautista Fiesta which is next door to my house in Sitio Quinto Limbo (We call it Sacred Heart Hill). Mind you, my father built our house in 1959 and back then we had zero neighbors, and we had peace and quiet!
I can understand that a fiesta is held once a year. But for my neighbors, it was a three-day event! Chapel Officer Magdaleno Ceballos wrote my sister Adela Kono a letter seeking consideration for a two-day disco. Well, June 24th was a Friday and the diskoral ran up to Sunday evening! That's three days! I thought that these people were poor, but they could hold a three-day fiesta and disturb the entire neighborhood for three-days and nights disturbing the entire neighborhood. What give them the right to disturb us?
My sister called up the Fuente Police Station, but their two numbers could not be reached (just imagine if there was truly an emergency the Fuente Police would be clueless) so instead she called the Guadalupe Police Station but they told her that it was not their jurisdiction. Again this is something that Senior Inspector Patrocinio Comendador should look into especially when the numbers of the Fuente Police could not be reached. When a crime is in progress, I don't care if these policemen have jurisdiction or not, they should respond to the call of the citizenry.
Finally my niece was able to reach the phones of the Fuente Police and they simply told her that the diskoral had a permit. But was that for a three-day permit? Secondly, there is an Anti-Noise Ordinance and if the disco DJ plays his music to decibel levels that can spill your ear, then the police should stop them. Last Sunday night was the last straw and henceforth, I'm getting the names of the Police Chiefs of Guadalupe and Fuente Osmeña so that if they will not respond to our call, I'll make sure that these police officers will be transferred to fight the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo or Basilan!
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I'm sure that the ordinary reader of our local dailies must have felt appalled that nearly three thousand people joined the funeral of Jeffrey "Jaguar" Diaz Cebu City's number one druglord. This is easy to understand because Jaguar was their own version of Robin Hood, where thanks to the illicit drug trade which I'm sure has ruined many families, Jaguar made sure that he shared his bounty or booty with those who have less in life. Thus, those people who joined his funeral where there to show their gratitude for his kindness regardless of his being a druglord or not.
I guess the same thing can happen to a corrupt politician who robs from the national coffers and shares his booty to the poor. If that corrupt politician dies, those who received his charity will honor him by attending his funeral regardless whether or not the politico is corrupt or not. This is how the cookie crumbles and we hope someday people would no longer need the services of their local version of Robin Hood and live on money that was earned not through the destruction of drug users who also have families.
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