About the plan to stop counterflowing bikers

With the Sinulog Festival (considered the biggest tourism drawer in the country) over and done with last weekend, the travel organizations hosted a huge travel promo called the Cebu Travel Catalogue International at the Ayala Activity Center, while the airline industry held its promo in SM City Cebu in what I would say is the real testament that Cebuanos have been bitten by the travel bug.

We have always supported the travel industry in Cebu this is why I asked the officials of Cebu's travel industry to be the guest on our talkshow Straight from the Sky. We have with us Alice K. Queblatin, president of the Cebu Alliance of Tour Operation Specialists with Mr. Allan Carvajal, president of the Cebu Travel and Tours Association, Mrs. Marget Fernan Villarica of Destination Specialist, and Ms. Reyani Roman area head for the Visayas Sales for Philippine Airlines to talk about the phenomenal growth of Cebu's tourism industry, its success stories and its challenges.

Call it timely that we have this interview with the leaders of Cebu's tourism industry right after the week of their very successful promo campaign. So watch this interesting show on SkyCable's channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV's channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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Fifteen days ago as I was entering the main gate of JY Square, a motorcycle struck my car on the right side as he didn't see that I had my signal light on and was turning into the guardhouse. The motorcycle's foot peg grazed my car and ripped off my bumper. The motorcycle driver admitted that it was his fault. I took a photo of him and his license plate because I didn't need to call the Cebu City Transportation Office anymore because, in front of the guard, he already admitted the accident was his fault.

This brings me to ask how many accidents in Metro Cebu happen between cars and motorcycles. I'm sure there are so many and my own incident has not been recorded because I didn't call CCTO anymore. But how many recorded accidents happened within a year? I'm sure there must be hundreds of such small accidents. I would even venture to say these accidents are the fault of those motorcycle drivers because so many of them ride recklessly. In the past 10 years, I already figured in three accidents with motorcycles, not with other cars.

So when Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña ordered all motorcycles caught counterflowing impounded, I said to myself that Mayor Osmeña has embarked on a nearly impossible task because a great majority of these motorcycle drivers always violate traffic rules, especially counterflowing. All I can say is good luck to CCTO operations chief Francisco "Isko" Ouano whose problem will be complaints from motorists who scratch their heads seeing motorcycles counterflowing, but getting away with this violation because there are not enough traffic enforcers around.

To make this proposal work, and discipline motorcycle riders, CCTO chief Ouano said that counterflowing motorcycles will be impounded and kept for one month and their drivers made to pay P100 per day for storage fee. I fully support this move because this is probably the most violated traffic rule in the country.

Then out of the blue, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III revealed that he too was amenable to implementing the law against counterflowing motorcycles. It just made me wonder where was Davide when, nearly a month ago, there was that "carmageddon" from Talisay to Carcar, a traffic jam that took nearly five hours to decongest? Does the governor also want to implement the counterflow policy in the Province of Cebu?

I dare the Cebu Governor to first implement the most violated traffic law in the Province of Cebu; tricycles running on the National Road. I dare him implement this rather than stop counterflowing motorcycles because tricycles are slow and cumbersome and therefore easier to catch. Call it classic Davide that he would agree with his political boss, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, because he has no idea of his own, and therefore it is easier to copy what Mayor Osmeña plans to do.