By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THERE is a dire warning from Phivolcs: Prepare for strong quakes up to magnitude 8.2‼️ Whoa!

Frankly, I can only think of one thing that everyone can and should do to prepare for The Big One. It is to prepare the family!

Family members must come together for a detailed serious discussion of what to do when it hits. The discussion should discuss all possible scenarios inside and outside the house, and what should be the priority task for each member of the household.

What can help is for the CDRRMC to prepare a set of guidelines and recommended actions for households to be distributed to all barangay residents.  Running to the evacuation center, a three-story building in the community is already given.

Also, recall that shortly after the 1990 earthquake, government urged everyone to have an individual emergency pack ready at all times.  The pack must have a flashlight, two bottles of water and a whistle.  The availability of a fully-charged cellphone is a big plus. One may also add a can of ready-to-eat crackers, a jacket, etc.

Only a family united in purpose can result in a more positive situation for it and the community.

Prepare…prepare…prepare your family!!

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UNITED WE FALL – I must give credit to the 7 epaLiFes for showing how a barkada system can work and should be emulated… for a good cause.

In their case, however, their barkadahan was united in everything except in anything that works and serve the people under the Belen Fernandez administration.

The barkada of Councilors Red Erfe-Mejia, Celia Chua Lim, Alfie Fernandez, Irene Lim-Acosta, Dada Reyna-Macalanda, Alvin Coquia and Marilou Fernandez, in their barkada unforms did all to obstruct and sabotage programs of the Belen administration intended for the people.

Name it! They, as the majority, crafted self-serving internal rules violative of the Local Government Code, blocked and delayed the passage of the 2023 annual budget, went as far as questioning the budgets’ eventual passage during a session when they didn’t have the number to out-vote the minority because three of their members went on vacation.

To rub insult to injury to their own constituents, their barkada submitted an annual budget for the city that was declared “inoperative in its entirety.”

Their latest barkada antic was to threaten the cancellation of the Mother and Child Hospital… unless they get what they want. On the surface, they raised “political repercussions” and delicadeza over the donation… and what have you.

But there’s more than meets the eye here. Just reading between the lines of their objections, it’s obvious that the threat is in fact a blackmail for Mayor Belen. And if I’m not mistaken,  it’s about the talk of the town that the mayor should fork over a million for each if they are to lend their names for the approval of the resolution authorizing Mayor Belen to sign the MOA with DOH.  Really now!

Recall that they began to bare their ugly agenda after Mayor Belen flatly refused to approve a P70,000 monthly salary for themselves under the guise of employing seven more additional “job order” employees for them.

So, the word on the street was, the passage of the 2024 budget should already be worth a million for each!  Unfortunately, they outsmarted themselves… and allowed themselves to lose their privilege as the majority by allowing only four to continue acting as the majority.   (Basic parliamentary math: The ‘four in the majority ’ became a minority to the ‘five’  of the minority bloc).

What takes the cake about their being a barkada, is the continued arrogance of the obnoxious councilors when they believe they are beyond parliamentary rules on how to conduct themselves as public servants.  Consequently, and fortunately for the city, their conceit and juvenile conduct netted court indictments. And there’s Councilor Irene Lim-Acosta who had the temerity to tell the court that it was her privilege to cuss the presiding officer “putang ina mo…” because she was angry. Where did she learn that?? Not from her dignified mother, Councilor Celia…ahh that could only come from the influence of her 7epaLiFes barkada!!

Any group that emulates the 7epaLiFe barkada system will surely uffer from the new adage: “United we fall.”

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STRICT ENFORCEMENT. It’s truly a wonder that the national government, from the executive to the legislative, has not done anything to control and regulate the use of streets and highways by motorcycle and tricycles.

For sure there are responsible riders in our communities, but they are greatly outnumbered by more than 300% of kamote riders out there who think they are entitled to be exempted from all traffic rules.

What’s more frustrating today is Pangasinan PNP’s stand that it is not a priority in its peace and order campaign, not even enforcing the single traffic rule set out by then DILG Sec. Eduardo Año which is still effective today since 2020: That tricycles and motorcycles running below 40kph must not be allowed to travel on the center/inner lanes!

Motorists can help the lazy police chiefs enforce DILG’s rule by blowing their horns on the motorcycle riders and tricycle riders hugging the center lanes preventing 4-10 wheelers to travel at higher speed, to prompt them to allow cars and trucks to pass, to make them aware that they are violating a traffic rule and must move to the outer lanes.

I do that!!

If the Pangasinan PNP is keen on looking into the causes of accidents involving motorcycles and tricycles, they don’t have to research further. The main cause is PNP’s failure to enforce this simple rule on motorcycles and tricycles traveling on roads and highways.

If only Pangasinan PNP enforces this rule strictly across the province, it will be surprised to see dramatic decrease in numbers of deaths and accidents involving motorcycles and tricycles in the province overnight.

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