Reel or Real?

I witnessed this early this afternoon as I was taking my daughter to school. This was in front of Odds.com Internet cafe on Tomas Morato in Barangay Sacred Heart, Quezon City. There were at least two video camera crews training their sights on a cordoned off Honda Civic. Several uniformed SOCO men could be seen inspecting a car ala-CSI. At first I thought it was another film shooting. But then I recognized someone who looked like a TV reporter. So was this a real crime scene or was the TV reporter doing a cameo for yet another TV serial?

Tomas Morato and what is referred to as the Scout area in Quezon City is a virtual studio lot of both ABS CBN and GMA 7. A number of soap operas and telenovelas are filmed in the streets, establishments and houses in the area. Thus it's not uncommon to have shootings in the area. 

Just the other day, a police chase was filmed across our building, a five or six hour shoot featuring Robin Padilla and Diether Ocampo. The guns and uniforms used seemed genuine. And except for the two lead stars whom one would never mistake for ordinary PO1s, the extras looked like real cops, moonlighting as bit players.

So was the scene I witnessed today real? Unfortunately, I will probably only know if I watch TV Patrol tonight.

Beware! Shadows Lurk Beyond the Turn

I call them the Hounds of New Manila, these yellow- or sometimes blue-clad traffic personnel from both the MMDA and the Quezon City traffic management group who man E. Rodriguez Avenue  in the New Manila area in Quezon City. They prey on unsuspecting motorists making a left turn from Tomas Morato into E. Rod.

They accost an average of four cars an hour, more during the peak times of 8 to 10 in the morning and 5 to 7 in the afternoon. Almost always the offense cited is "swerving" or changing lanes when making the left turn. Once they have the motorist stopped, the well-rehearsed script ensues.

And if you insist to just be given a ticket they will stall and try to convince you to change your mind.

"Sir, baka mahirapan pa kayo. Matagal ang proceso..." they chant, as if they were even doing you a favor.

In the end, they usually prevail. And end up with at least a hundred pesos per car.

So much for the new administration's vision of a graft-free government. What ever happened to "ang matuwid na daan?"

Not too long after the new MMDA chairman assumed office last year, the following press release went the rounds advising motorists against abusive MMDA officers. Only when we re-read this do we realize that sadly, not much has changed in this office.

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Tools against abusive MMDA officers
Source: MMDA Personnel Officer Antonio Pagulayan

If any of these abuses seem familiar to you, Mr. Antonio Pagulayan (Personnel Officer) has asked that you call either the MMDA hotline (136) or call the METRO BASE at (0920) 938-9861 or (0920) 938-9875 and ask for an Inspectorate.
They should send inspectors to the place where these MMDA officers are extorting, even while you are arguing out of your apprehension.

1. MMDA officers are not allowed to group together in order to apprehend. They are not even allowed to stand together in groups of two or more. The only time they are allowed to work together is for special operations (probably when they apprehend groups of buses for smoke belching)

2. Swerving IS NOT a traffic violation. Moving from one lane to the left or right is not swerving, no matter where or what road. And it is even less of a violation when you do it with a signal. Swerving is defined as shifting two or more lanes very quickly. You can argue your way out of this or call the Metro Base for help.

3. Sadly, using the yellow lane is a traffic violation and will get you a ticket. However, buses are really not allowed to get out of the yellow lane, so if you see selective apprehension of private cars only, you may complain.

4. MMDA has confirmed that your license MAY NOT BE CONFISCATED at a traffic apprehension. The only time they can do so is if you are part of an accident, or it is your third violation and you have not settled your fines yet. They are only allowed to give you a ticket, which you can contest. Pagulayan recommends actually receiving the ticket in some instances, so that you can report the officer who did it.

5. Also, you are free to ask any of these officers for their "mission order" which is written by their supervisor. If they apprehend you for a violation that is not in their mission order for the day, you can report them and they will receive disciplinary action.

How Blatant Can One Get!

Total strangers coming up to you and asking for "pamasko" is nothing new. We get it from our garbage collectors, the village guards, the newspaper boy, even the street children at every intersection on the way to work. Some make an effort to even sing a few lines of a Christmas carol, some do a Wowowee inspired dance, still others just stick their hands out, as if we owe them. None of this is new. We're all used to it. But what totally caught me by surprise this past Christmas season was this note on the change platter given to me by a waiter in Luk Yuen.

 What brazenness! And so instead of giving my customary 15% tip, I took every single centavo of the change. Maybe the waiter should just have been a little more attentive, shown a little more of a spirit of service for his customers to reward him with a bigger tip. Brandishing notes like this will not get him any merry wishes.

Lame Lane!

When the MMDA proudly announced a couple of weeks before Christmas that they were going to open up new Mabuhay or Christmas Lanes to decongest traffic during the Yuletide season, I  was quite skeptical. As I am sure many others were too. I just couldn't imagine where these so called alternatives routes would be. Unless the MMDA was suddenly able to gain public access to the exclusive villages surrounding EDSA and other main thorough fares. Something even the iron-handed Bayani Fernando couldn't do during his reign.

And true enough, as it turned out, there were no new roads. The MMDA simply labelled routes which motorists have long been using as alternatives to EDSA.

Sad. Again the MMDA disappoints.

Dear Mr. Globe,

Is that a cell site on your back? If it is, could you please hang out more often in my neighborhood? I live in Woodside Homes at the end of Hemady Street in New Manila, Quezon City.

You see, ever since Typhoon Ondoy hit our country over a year ago your signal has gone down from a full four bar to a measly one bar at best. And despite repeated calls to customer support, the signal strength has never been restored.

I hope you can accommodate me. I will even have coffee and fully loaded merienda ready for you when you come. Just drop by please.

Dear Mr. Counterfeiter,

Mang gagaya ka lang din, e sana pinagbutihan mo na. Next time, sana tama na ang spelling ha. Just do et!

Akala Ko Hindi na Puede ang "Puede Na?"

In President Aquino's inauguration speech which I personally witnessed last 30 June 2010 in the Luneta, one of the more applauded portions touched on public works.

"Mula ngayon, hindi na puwede ang “puwede na” pagdating sa mga kalye, tulay at gusali dahil magiging responsibilidad ng mga kontratista ang panatilihing nasa mabuting kalagayan ang mga proyekto nila."

"From now on, mediocre work will not be good enough when it comes to roads, bridges, and buildings because we will hold contractors responsible for maintaining their projects in good condition."

I wonder if anyone in the DPWH and the Quezon City local government was listening or even understood just what the president was saying. Or maybe they've simply just refused to follow his orders.

At roughly the same time, around the last week of June 2010, just outside our village in New Manila, Quezon City, work began on a portion of Hemady Street beginning at the corner of E. Rodriguez Ave. The job entailed replacing the asphalt with concrete and as expected took a while to finish.


By the end of August, all that remained to be done was finish the gutters and cover the manholes that of course, were destroyed by the construction. But then the workers disappeared. And never came back. It's as if the contractor was saying, "hey, we were only tasked with putting concrete on the road. We are not responsible for the gutters and manholes. Puede na yan!"

And so it remains. To this day. We have a nice concrete road but gaping and dangerous holes where gutters and manholes used to be.


Ay naku. Puede ba? Hindi yan puede!