My Christmas wish list
I hope Santa reads this and grants me my wishes for the coming year
Christmas Day is fast approaching and like everyone else, I do have my own wish list for the holiday season.
Ease EDSA traffic. Up to now I have yet to see a concerted effort by both the government and the private sector to ease traffic, especially during the Christmas season. Staggered working hours, work from home for qualified employees, four-day work week, expanded P2P (Point to
Point) routes and the accreditation of more ride-hailing companies other than Grab to break this existing monopoly are but some of the interventions that will ease the heavy traffic situation in EDSA.
More online government transactions — If the government is dead serious in reducing corruption to its barest minimum, face-to-face transactions in concluding government transactions should be avoided. Aside from curbing corruption, online government transactions mean less traffic on the road. You can transact with any government agency from the comfort of your home and pay with the convenience of your credit or debit card. Cash/ face-to-face payments are prone to corruption. Paying through your credit or debit card eliminates corruption. A good example is the renewal of our driver’s license. If you can renew your driver’s license online, there is no need to go to any Land Transportation Office (LTO) office and deal with fixers. License fees can be paid using your credit or debit card. No more crowded LTO offices, no more fixers, less paperwork for LTO employees and most importantly, you save time and fuel by doing your transaction online.
More hybrid cars on the road — I am an advocate of green vehicles. But I think electric cars are still way ahead of its time due to the high cost of batteries and the utter lack of charging stations. This is the main reason for range anxiety for electric cars. A hybrid car will give us the best of both worlds. It is far less polluting than a fossil-fueled car, it consumes less fuel and you won’t experience range anxiety. Hopefully, with the exemption of the excise tax for hybrid and electric vehicles starting January 2020, we will see more of these environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles on the road.
Serious implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) Let us be real about this. Most of the current PUV plying our roads are old, unreliable, uncomfortable and unsafe. They pose grave danger to the riding public. The public deserves better. Standards have been set a long time ago for the operation of public utility vehicles and the implementation of these standards were poorly enforced. By seriously enforcing the safety and operational standards set by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on public utility vehicles, I am very sure that majority of these jeepneys will fail and there will be no recourse but to replace them with new, reliable, comfortable and safe public utility vehicles.
Implementation of the “no garage, no car law.” Prospective car owners should have the appropriate garages to park their cars before they are allowed to own one. Parking along public roads is a major cause of heavy traffic and should be disallowed. I commend the City of San Juan for strictly implementing the “no parking” rule along its public roads.
Major increase in fines involving traffic violations — to take traffic violations seriously, fines should be increased by 1000 percent! Filipinos adhere to traffic rules and regulations when they are out of the country because enforcement is strict and the fines are heavy in other countries. A combination of strict no nonsense enforcement of traffic regulations and ultra-stiff fines for traffic violations will result in traffic discipline among our motorists.
LTFRB’s centralized issuance of operating franchises for all public utility vehicles, including tricycles — I find it inconsistent that there is a regulation that bequeaths the issuance of tricycle franchises to the local government units (LGU). The end result of this regulation is non-uniform standards by the different LGU in issuing franchises to tricycles. What is good for one LGU may not be good for the other. It is about time for the LTFRB to get back this authority given to the LGU and come up with a uniform national standard in the issuance of franchises for tricycles that will be enforced on a nationwide basis.
No importation of second hand vehicles — Government should disallow the importation of second hand vehicles. Majority of these vehicles have been junked due to age and safety issues by their countries of origin and are being imported by unscrupulous car traders. These are old, unsafe and fully depreciated vehicles that do not deserve to be owned and driven in our country. Importation of these second hand vehicles also affects the sales and operation of legitimate car assemblers and dealers who have invested heavily in the local automotive industry.
These are my wish lists for Christmas 2019. I hope Santa reads this and grants me my wishes for the coming year. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year!
Up to now I have yet to see a concerted effort by both the government and the private sector to ease traffic, especially during the Christmas season.