What’s “Very Pinoy”?

By Ermin F. Garcia Jr.

Yucky. Gross. Timely. Funny.

These were generally the reactions to our last week’s column on the three notorious “freedoms” enjoyed in the streets – “the freedoms of spit, singa and CR”.

While many thought the item was not a material fitting for this column, still others thought it was time we brought this out in the open, and described these “freedoms” for what they really are – a way of life of the uneducated and uncivilized.

The truth is, many wonder why we continue to tolerate these unsanitary and unhygienic practices like we have accepted these as “very Pinoy”.

Is it really very Pinoy to exercise those “freedoms”? Of course not! On the contrary, these are embarrassing “habits that equate the Pinoy with the worst kind. What   it really is, is that Pinoys never want to bother to teach anyone what are essentially sanitary and hygienic practices. We just love to laugh at these awkward practices symptomatic of the “Bawal ang umihi dito” syndrome, taking no serious offense when these “freedoms” are “exercised” in front of us.

We just laugh. That’s very Pinoy. We even laugh at the prospect of being insulted to refer to these “freedoms” as “very Pinoy”.

Pathetic.

For this reason, I urge Dagupan City Councilor Dr. Jess Canto, the proponent of the “spitting ban” ordinance, to invite more discussion on his proposal. This way, more people will be more aware that it is not “very Pinoy” to exercise the “freedoms of spit, singa and CR” in public, that it is a threat to public health and a sure sign of one’s pitiable ignorance.

I only hope the hard-working councilor will realize that plain outlawing of spitting, etc, in public will not solve this worsening social and health hazard but only education will. I do hope that he and the city councilors (and eventually the provincial board) will seek to frame an ordinance that will not only ban these “freedoms” but will take it one step farther by directing the adoption and implementation of a curriculum that will highlight the import of having a community highly conscious of sanitary and hygienic practices. Above all, they must put their money where their mouth is by allocating funds for it.

No law ever works where no funds are provided for.

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BOOK THOSE RITZY SQUATTERS. Here’s another good-news, bad-news item.

The good news is the Dagupan City government is determined to recover all the illegally acquired beachfront properties by some influential families in the city, nearby Baguio and friends of the Lim administration in Metro Manila.

Now, the bad news. The unscrupulous squatters who would think nothing of robbing the city blind have started to erect structures overnight to give the impression that they have been settling in the area before the national law was passed.

Those ritzy squatters must take all Dagupeños to be dumb to believe they can actually get away with their new trick! I sure hope Mayor Al Fernandez will not eventually play dumb in this war that he started (and rightfully so).

What’s worrisome at this point is the turtle pace with which the Acting City Assessor Virginia Deocares seems to be proceeding with the verification of the tax declarations over these beachfronts. Since the city issued the executive order last December 4, only five have been verified out of at least a hundred questionable claims.

Let’s hope that the acting city assessor has not been tempted to look at this as an opportunity for a lucrative retirement. Let’s watch and see how her office proceeds from here.

Meanwhile,  I  pray that the fighting  tandem of  City Engr. Virginia Rosario and City Legal  Officer George Mejia will finally throw the books not only at these dodgy  ritzy  squatters who think they can dupe any and all  Dagupeños but to the few opportunistic Dagupeños themselves who have no shame attempting to rob from their kind.   

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THE MAN WHO COULD NOT BE SILENCED. This corner offers its sincerest condolence to the family of Atty. Armand Montessa. I’ve had the privilege of working with the indefatigable and tireless Armand in the mid-70s when we, as Rotarians, did all to make Rotary’s “Service Above Self”  a reality. He was one man who could never be silenced when he thought he was in the right.

(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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