There Must Be Something Wrong

If People don’t do what they know they should do, then there should only be one reason. There must be something wrong somewhere, somehow.

In 2011, Bayawan City passed the so-called “Helmet Ordinance”. This is such a good idea and this also has a noble purpose which is to carve motorcycle accident related injuries and indeed deaths.

I am for safety myself. I always believe in the saying, “prevention is better than cure.” I know it’s a cliché, a very common saying, but it has all the truth in it.

Being from the neighbouring town of Sta. Catalina, and being an advocate of safe driving myself, I really thought that it is high time such an ordinance is passed. I also hope that my own home town would follow suit.

Just to have a taste of how it feels to be driving in all comfort and safety, I went to the city of Bayawan to have a first-hand experience of this. But surprisingly, what greets me in the city is a totally different reality.

 
First, on the boundary of Sta. Catalina and Bayawan City, next to the police outpost was written in big letters, “WE IMPLEMENT HELMET LAW IN BAYAWAN CITY” with corresponding penalties if somebody is caught and so on. This sounds good, doesn’t it? And right there and then, somebody riding a motorcycle came passed through me, wearing short pants and a basketball jersey wearing no helmet, nothing to protect himself and the police man just looked at him as if nothing happens. So I simply said to myself ‘what’s going on here?’

Second, I went on a little further and suddenly a man, apparently drunk, fell down his motorcycle right in the middle of the road. He wears no helmet and his head hit the tarmac first. He was also driving fast. So the ambulance came and took him to the hospital, dying. This happened just a few meters away from the police outpost. And not a policeman did anything, except when the accident-fallen man, was about to be taken to the hospital. So, sadly, they came only to record the incident and nothing more.

 Third, going still further, I noticed that in fact I was the only “Mohican” that was wearing a helmet. I simply did not see anybody else wearing a helmet aside from myself. So what happened to the law? And how is it being implemented if nobody is following it and at the same time nobody is arrested or at least being reprimanded for not obeying the law?

Here is the funny thing about this. On my way home, on a highway, not being in a hurry, I drove very slowly. Then two persons, a man and a woman, went in front of me driving considerably fast. They had a helmet each, alright. But the thing is they both had their helmets on their arms and not on their heads. I mean, it really defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? Helmets are for heads not for arms, mind you. There are other things that are fit to protect our arms when driving a motorcycle. We know that, of course. Anyway, just to cut the long story short, knowing that those two motorcyclists are going to pass through the police outpost I mentioned earlier, I followed them behind. As soon as we come close to the check point area, my mind tells me that at least, they should tell the two to wear their helmets on their heads and not on their arms because then it becomes absolutely useless to have helmets without wearing them properly. But, perhaps, this is not really my lucky day. The two police men sitting down comfortably under a tree just looked at them and not one of the two moved a muscle to do his job.

Here is the deal. Republic Act 10054, also known as the Motorcycle Helmet Law, requires any motorcycle riding person to wear a helmet. And, as a matter of fact, just to show this is a serious matter, the law provides corresponding penalties if somebody is caught disobeying it. SEC. 3. Of the said ACT says: “Mandatory Use of Motorcycle Helmets. — All motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, shall at all times wear standard protective motorcycle helmets while driving, whether long or short drives, in any type of road and highway.” There is also a corresponding penalty if somebody chooses to disobey the law and is subsequently  caught. SEC. 7. Penalties. Says — “(a) Any person caught not wearing the standard protective motorcycle helmet in violation of this Act shall be punished with a fine of One thousand five hundred pesos (Php1,500.00) for the first offense; Three thousand pesos (Php3,000.00) for the second offense; Five thousand pesos (Php5,000.00) for the third offense; and Ten thousand pesos (Php10,000.00) plus confiscation of the driver's license for the fourth and succeeding offenses.’

So really, the law is there. But does anybody really care? Well, apparently, not many. Surely not those riders I encountered on the streets of Bayawan City. Not those two who decided to wear their helmets on their arms. And also, not those two policemen who preferred to be comfortable under the tree instead of fulfilling their duty. As for me, well, I will never compromise my own safety as well as the safety of the people along my way.

The Filipino Way

I find it funny or perhaps interesting how Filipinos do things. For instance, when you take a ceres bus or any bus for that matter, you will see people rushing to the newly parked bus. Then immediately, you will see people crowding at the door and pushing each other just to get in first. Seeing how people are struggling really hard to get in while the others are blocking your way with their feet, arms and body, and anything else possible, you will obviously feel like doing the same thinking that you might run out of seats. Then eventually you get in. And once inside you realise that the bus is just half-full or half-empty depending on how you see things. Then on top of that, the moment you are in the bus, you are there sitting down and you still have to wait for a good 30 minutes or so before the bus eventually leaves for your destination. Then while sweating all the way for running, and rushing and muscling your way in, you come to think, what did I hasten to get in for, if after all we will still wait for this long under this heat and humidity?

Here is a good one, the moment you are on the bus you will really see that everybody ignores everybody. If you know someone among your fellow passengers, he or she will just say, “Hello? Where are you going?” And the rest, you act as if you don’t know each other. Otherwise you are good friends. But not quite on the bus.

Then we normally say that Filipinos are very courteous and respectful. But who will ever say good morning, good afternoon, good evening on the bus. Well, I haven’t heard any. Not even myself.

Here is what some people do on the bus. The moment you are inside, obviously, the first thing you do is to look around for a seat. Then you will find only one seat that is good for three passengers with two people sitting down comfortably on each end. Then you will see one person with big belly sitting down with his big legs widespread as if he is sitting down on his sofa drinking a bottle of beer watching television. What? You are doing this on a bus? Well, unfortunately, some people do. Then you have no choice. There is only one place left and you have to be seated especially if you are up for a long trip. So you put yourself next to that person and you spend the rest of your trip looking for an opportunity to move to another seat. And if you don’t find one, then you spend the rest of your trip regretting having seated next to the person who thinks that the whole bus is his.

What about respect? Our parents and elementary school teachers always reminded us to respect our elders and the elderly. I'm on a bus one day and an elderly woman comes in. My instinct immediately tells me to get up and give her my seat when I hear the conductor saying, “Naa ray manaog sa unahan, lola!” (Somebody will get down a little farther, grandmother!). Hearing that, I feel kind of assured. So I don't give her my seat. And it's true, somebody gets down a little father and another one a little farther and again another one a little farther away. But lola never gets a seat. Why? Because nobody cares. Every time somebody gets down, a stronger man or woman is there ready to take the seat before she could even come near. So what about respect for the elders and the elderly? It’s everybody’s guess.

Here is another one. A man with only one leg and a pair of crutches got into the bus. I was appalled that nobody really thought of helping him. I would have helped him myself, but unfortunately I was far behind. And it took a while for the bus conductor to realise that the man needed help. The moment he was on the bus, hardly anybody, moved to give him the way. Nobody really considered the fact that he is a handicapped person. Talking of respect, gallantry and kindness.

Somebody might think that I am so negative about Filipinos. Well, I’m a Filipino myself. So I have no to reason to undesirably criticize my own self. No. I’m not being negative. I’m simply reminding us of what we should be and that we are not and what we should do, that we don’t do.