Let's end our tolerance of government inefficiency

Yesterday we wrote about the changes that you and I would love to see happen in this New Year 2014 and I dare say that we ought to start with the small bureaucrats who make a living from our taxes, yet their petty corruption continues up to this day. It happens simply because most of us don't care to fix our problems even if it stares us in our faces. If our government doesn't care, and we the people are nonchalant about changing things for the better, then stop complaining about bad traffic, corruption, smuggling and the like because all these ugly things can never get fixed unless we all band together and force this change ourselves!

The real problem lies not with our bureaucrats, but rather because we Cebuanos and I guess I can say this for most Filipinos that are just too damn tolerant that government bureaucrats can make things difficult for the people who deal with the government when it is a fact that we hired these people to make things easier for us. So let me announce it here that the time for tolerance is over! This is the New Year 2014 and we as a people should no longer tolerate the things happening to us in everyday life.

If you are riding a jeepney at night and you see that the jeepney driver has purposely turned off his lights, it is your duty as a citizen to tell the driver to turn on his lights as your vehicle has become a menace to the road. Please don't do it for yourself, but take pity on the other motorists who might bump into your jeepney and get killed in the process. Reckless endangerment is a serious crime in the US. But here it doesn't exist. We only complain about a reckless driver after the accident has happened, when we ought to be preventing these drivers from causing danger on our roads.

If you are a CITOM enforcer who just apprehended a vehicle for a traffic violation, don't just focus on a particular violation, look for more. Ask the driver to turn on his lights, for all we know he may have a busted taillight. We Cebuanos are not asking you for more work, but rather, we are asking you to check that vehicle for other traffic infractions. Who knows the tires of that vehicle may already be bald and poses a danger to other motorists. This should be the attitude of not just CITOM enforcers, but all traffic enforcers here in Metro Cebu! The time has finally come to fix ourselves!

Over dinner on New Years' Day, my niece told me that she applied for a driver's license and was told that it would cost P3,000 plus, but she refused to pay the amount being asked and it took her hours to get everything done and afterwards, she was told that she failed the exams. Hurt and frustrated, she paid the P3,000 and voila! She got her driver's license! Come now should we continue tolerating this corrupt practice? Mind you, I learned that one of those Iranians killed in that bus accident in Balamban had a Philippine Passport and driver's license. The poor fellow could only get those papers via corruption. What about passport issues? There's more!

I dare say that it is time that netizens should form into some kind of Movement for a Better Cebu by using today's smart phone technologies and the Internet to focus on these small, minor, but often deadly infractions committed by public officers or those who serve the public, like bus, jeepney or taxi drivers… yes including those pesky habal-habal drivers who overload their motorcycles that's built for only two passengers. But like what we've been saying, these drivers can get away with anything for as long as our government regulators tolerate them.

Indeed, we've been so tolerant for many years or for 27 years since the EDSA Revolution and we've been waiting to turn things around for the Philippines and make this a better nation. But our politicians have failed us miserably. They are merely content in getting themselves elected and pretending that they can work things out without introducing measures that can make things better in this country. But now that the New Year 2014 has began, I dare say that we should no longer tolerate the inefficiencies and petty corruption of our government officials and it is time to spot these people and bring it out in social networking sites in the hope that if we shame them, they might just change their ways and clean up their acts.

THE BLACK BOX: I got this information from a good friend, Mr. Pert Cabatana that the Cebu International Chamber Music Festival will hold its New Year Concert on Jan. 6th (Monday) at the Parklane Hotel. There is a matinee at 3 p.m. and the Gala show will start at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, Jan. 7th, there will be a public concert at the SM North Wing Lobby. I'm glad that we are starting the New Year right with music to soothe our ears. We all want Cebu to join the great cities of the world and most great cities always have time for a musical concert. So please support the Cebu International Chamber Music Festival.

Email: vsbobita@gmail.com