Friday, October 03, 2008 Wenceslao: Manuel Iway’s lone ranger act By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
I doff my hat off to former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional director Manuel Iway for braving the odds in that public hearing on his petition to reduce jeepney and taxi fare rates. Some taxi drivers and operators he faced were rude, which is bad for the image of drivers and operators.
Iway used to have a companion in the struggle: the commuters group headed by former mediaman Souie Mercado, who I understand is already abroad. I guess that commuters group can now be described as fly-by-night.
Still, LTFRB 7 should not take Iway’s lone ranger act as a sign that his petition lacked the support of the general public.
Not many concerned groups or individuals know the process of filing petitions for fare reductions , unlike Iway who used to be with LTFRB. Besides, the usually vociferous sectors, like the militants, are allied with the drivers and operators, thus their silence on the legitimate demand for fare reduction. As for other sectoral groups, they are passive.
It would have made Iway’s day had, say, student councils of various colleges and universities and senior citizens groups went to the hearing. But even by his lonesome, I trust that Iway presented compelling arguments for his cause, which matters more than the number of people supporting him during the hearing. The ball is now with LTFRB.
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Edmund Arugay, PASG operations chief, expressed dismay over the controversy sparked by an “ordinary operation” to apprehend a container van brought to a warehouse in Mandaue City last Monday. That time, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 tangled with elements of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG)-Cebu.
Arugay, who was interviewed by Bobby Nalzaro over dySS yesterday morning, had probably a right to be dismayed. Take away that confrontation between NBI 7 and PASG-Cebu elements and last Monday’s operation might not even have landed on page 1 of Sun.Star’s issue the next day. So why did the near-clash happen in the first place?
I agree with the others who are wondering why PASG-Cebu elements, with the Swat team of the Mandaue City police in tow, had to be at the warehouse immediately after NBI 7 elements apprehended the van. I heard Mandaue City Police Chief Mersan Premne that night talk about acting on reports armed men were posing as PASG agents.
And what would have happened had reports on the confrontation not been aired first on dyAB through, if I remember it correctly, its reporter Marlon Villeta? Would the situation have deteriorated into an armed confrontation or would NBI 7 and PASG-Cebu have settled the matter by themselves and for dubious reasons? Questions, questions.
Smuggling, like drug dealing, is a problem that is difficult to curb because it is propped up by the corrupt acts of those in government, something that is to the liking of smugglers. Or that is the general perception of the public. Monday’s incident
and the subsequent verbal exchange among law enforcers only served to bolster that perception.
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My column yesterday about the pricing of medicines in pharmacies inside private hospitals prompted a texter to text me this: “I used to be a med rep for a multinational firm for many years and had hospitals as my clients. I can attest to the fact that what you mentioned in your column about their medicine prices is true.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
