Friday 30th October 2015
11:56 pm
It was on a jeepney ride on my way home. I was sitting on the passenger seat. We were passing by the long and deadly road of Commonwealth Avenue, and I could guess we were far from the 60 kph limit when two vehicles made their way near the jeepney. So near we had to change gears to avoid collision. All the while, one of the vehicles was honking its horns. We were able to get away safely, no harm done on the jeepney and its passengers. A few meters ahead was the Fairview bottleneck along Doña Carmen. It was almost midnight and the traffic still went on for hundreds of meters. To be honest it has been quite a menace. How long has it been going, that the road works there is still unfinished? Every few meters, the road with normally 4 lanes will narrow down to a single passable lane due to the heavy machinery parked on the road. Cars go bumper to bumper and the long line of cars goes on. Our designated driver was trying his best to get us out of the traffic as fast as he could when to our surprise, a vehicle rolled down its window and honked its horn on us. The driver of the black Honda City; plate number ZDX 150 engaged in a conversation with our driver and cursed him for “his driving” and he wasn’t contented with what he did, he reached for his gun and pointed it in our direction. Apparently, he was driving one of the cars who tried to cut into our lane.
The nerve of that man. He was completely out of line. First and foremost he was the one who was cutting into our lane. If anyone owed anyone an apology, that would be him. Second, he SHOULD NOT in any case flaunt that he is armed, ESPECIALLY IF HE’LL USE IT TO SCARE PEOPLE. He is a perfect example of people abusing authority and power. And one of the very reason why our country is stuck in the low. Who in the right.mind would do that? Especially when they know that they are the one at fault? Only people who thinks so highly of themselves. And lastly, it pains to witness that man further cause a traffic jam. He’s so full of himself that he never knew when to give way for others. But what can unarmed people like all of us in the jeepney do when someone puts a gun in our heads? What can our report to LTFRB do if it’s the people in “power” that we are reporting to them? Do you know how many steps it requires to even file that complaint? And then, that person might just need a second and a handful of cash to settle everything.
We may have had campaigns to set things straight, to call for help, but sometimes that is not enough. Just look at the Lumads, they’ve made their voices heard, but what has happened. It pains to know that even after all the effort they’ve put into going to Manila from their lands in Mindanao, progress in their fight is still slim. It’s such a shame that not a single person from the administration has been with the Lumads. And that the media is not doing much to emphasize this lack of action from the administration. We focus so much on the dirty aspect of politics and the election that we forget to look deeper in the problems that our fellow Filipinos experience on a daily basis.
These are unfair realities that I hope our future leaders try to deal with. And I can only hope that these are things that they put on their platforms and do something about.
Lurking in the Shadows 