The impending motorcycle fines

IF WE look at the sales figures for vehicles, we will find out that motorcycle and scooter sales are almost six times more than car sales. For 2022, motorcycles sales topped 1.56 million and, for 2023, the projection is 2.607 which will break the all-time high of 2.5 million. If we compare this to the projected car sales for 2023 of only 340,000 vehicles, we have to assume that motorcycles will continue to compete with cars for road space which will affect traffic management.

The move of MMDA to penalize motorcycle riders with a fine for using flyovers as shelters when it rains is therefore understandable. But whether this is the best solution for MMDA to take is another matter. We have to bear in mind that cycle riders have as much right to use the road as any car owner. At first glance, the problem may be pretty straight forward.

Motorcycle riders who shelter under bridges and overpasses either to put on their rain wears then move on or wait for the rain to stop are lingering too long, posing danger to themselves and other motorists. But let us look at what is happening on the ground when it rains. A short heavy downpour in the Metro area would be enough to paralyze traffic.

In such a situation, where could the riders realistically go especially when there is flash flooding which is a very common occurrence?

The problem may not be as simple as the MMDA is thinking. Metro Manila motorists are well aware of the problems that rain causes to the precarious traffic situation in the National Capital Region. This is why when it rains, all motorists adjust to the situation. This being the case, MMDA should be more tolerant and not appear to be targeting the motorcycle riders only because there are in fact also other problems that need attention when it rains. It seems what the MMDA want riders to do is that if they have to stop at flyovers, they must not linger. They should just put their rain wears on and be on their way.

In the Metro area, it is a common sight for riders to use flyovers, bridges and the areas under the rail lines of MRT3, 2 and 1 to keep themselves dry or to put their rain wears on if they have before proceeding to their destinations.

This should not be a problem if everyone is using a car but since everyone cannot afford to buy cars, the motorcycle is like a halfway house.

MMDA must know that motorcycle driving in a heavy downpour could be dangerous

People buy it before transitioning to cars.

It stands to reason that they should perhaps be given a little more consideration because rain is the worst enemy of all motorcycle riders.

What should be evident to the MMDA or the government as a whole is that a lot more studies should be made to address the problems brought about by the millions of motorcycles being added to our roads every year because of their impact to traffic management. The problem may seem so mundane but it is a serious issue that deserves looking into by the government.

In the case of the National Capital Region, riders use every available space they can find during a downpour in order to put on their raincoats, wait out the rain or try to remain dry.

Gasoline stations is another place where riders congregate.

If the riders are in EDSA the favorite place are the emergency areas under the MRT3 tracks and of course, the flyovers. The bus stopovers in the malls like Mega Mall and SM north are also being used at times. These tell us the government should do a lot more to help these people instead of simply being punitive.

He wants the government to fix the “complicated” systems in the bureaucracy to enhance job generation and provide the labor force with quality jobs that would allow them to live decent and productive lives.

“We need to have economic activity so our countrymen will have jobs. It will not happen just because we stated it. We really need to do a lot of things,” he said.

These include introducing new policies that would speed up digitalization and allow the labor force to acquire new skills to make the Philippines a more investor-friendly place, not just for foreigners but also for local entrepreneurs.

Creating an environment conducive for both foreign and local investors also means fixing the way government departments are run, and facilitating the ease of doing business in the country.

That is the marching order given by the President to Economic Planning Secretary and concurrent NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan, on whose shoulders rest the awesome responsibility to implement “game-changing” reforms that will improve the country’s business investment climate and help sustain labor market gains, including high-quality job creation in partnership with the private sector.

They cannot just be treated the way MMDA wants it because there is also a legitimate public health issue involved.

Indeed, with MMDA bringing this issue to the fore, it has gotten itself a constructive problem that it has to find a better solution.

MMDA must know that motorcycle driving in a heavy downpour could be dangerous. A lot of things can happen in a chaotic traffic situation if visibility is impaired.

One important consideration here is the prevention of serious traffic accidents from happening in order not to worsen the traffic situation.

This projected plan of the MMDA that will go into effect on August 1 is an example of the piece mill way of the government in tackling problems.

MMDA should view this as an opportunity to take the lead as far as the Metro area is concerned and come up with a comprehensive set of rules for motorcycle operation in the NCR.

This is because there are motorcycle riders who behave as if they are exempted from traffic laws. Proof of this is the high number of traffic deaths of motorcycle riders involved in traffic accidents.

But with regard to lingering too long when using flyovers as shelters when it rains, the MMDA should accompany its August 1 plan with ameliorating actions so as not to appear as cruel and uncaring to the plight of motorcycle riders. In situations like this, it is sometimes better to be more constructive than simply being punitive.

Joining hands for sufficient water supply

Among these partners are MTFI’s institutional partners: San Miguel Corporation, Manila Water, Maynilad, and Sta. Clara International.

Manila Water has been an institutional partner of MTFI since 2021 with an annual endowment of P1-million. It has planted 1,382,114 trees under its Watershed Reforestation Project started in 1995. For 2022, it has planted 88,000 trees at the La Mesa watersheds.

From 2017-2022, Manila Water has been recognized as a dependable stakeholder partner of the AMTC with 150,000 committed trees to be planted for CY 2023. It established and implemented best practices that foster sustainable forests and/or communitybased reforestation program, serving as the model for other communities or organizations.

Like Manila Water, Maynilad has been an institutional partner of MTFI since 2021 with the same annual P1-million support and a stakeholder partner of AMTC since 2017.

Its Plant for Life Watershed Reforestation Project earlier initiated in 2007 recently achieved its 1 million trees planted on December 29 last year. In 2022, Maynilad planted 82,051 trees at the La Mesa, Ipo, and Manila Bay watersheds. It pledged to plant 215,000 trees for CY 2023. As an institutional partner, Santa Clara International took care of the ground preparations for the construction of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center.

It deployed heavy equipment for the purpose.

As a stakeholder partner, it has planted thousands of fire trees in Morong, Bataan.

Another institutional partner is San Miguel Corporation (SMC) which is the major donor of MTFI with an annual P5-million endowment to support the various programs, projects and operations of MTFI.

In the last four years, SMC has planted and nurtured more than five million new trees and mangroves from 2019 to 2022 under its multiyear, nationwide forestation and carbon capture program as part of San Miguel Corporation Global Power’s (SMCGP) Project 747 covering 5,000,116 upland and mangrove trees across 1,500 hectares of land in seven provinces.

SMC has been an institutional partner of MTFI since the latter’s establishment in 2021.

Through the initiative of its President and CEO Mr. Ramon S. Ang, SMC provided initial funding for the construction of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center.

The nursery and eco learning center is essential in carrying out the programs of MTFI. Located at the La Mesa Watershed, it is the first project of MTFI in the five-hectare land leased by government to the Foundation.

The eco learning center hosts the MTFI satellite office and has available space for environment-related seminars and workshops particularly the SMC Multi Purpose Center or more popularly known as Eddie’s Green Barn to honor the memory of former President Ramos.

A coffee shop and souvenir shop are also situated in the leased area as well as kiosks for each institutional partner where their respective environment conservation and protection advocacies are highlighted.

SMC’s advocacy for environment protection goes beyond reforestation.

It is also actively involved in river clean-up and rehabilitation with the Tullahan-Tinajeros river system and Pasig River among the beneficiaries of the initiative.

In his message during the AMTC Awarding Ceremony and Pledging Session, RSA commended former MWSS Administrator and Chairman Gen Reynaldo V. Velasco (ret), MWSS Administrator Bobby Cleofas and MTFI together with fellow advocates on environment protection.

While tree-planting is just one of the courses of action in environment protection, there is no debate about its importance.

Trees play a vital role in the water cycle and help improve water quality as they filter pollutants and sediments. With the AMTC, a community built on a commitment for a greener and stronger future has been established with the Million Trees Foundation carrying on the torch for the green revolution of planting trees to protect critical watersheds.

“This opportunity is an avenue for us to further show our value of “malasakit” – Malasakit Para sa Kalikasan,” RSA said.

MTFI partners have committed to plant over a million more trees this year. It is not far-fetched to achieve MTFI’s goal of 10 million more trees planted by 2030.

Let us do our share of environmental responsibility and work together to build a greener country, a greener world.

(The author is president and executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-profit group advocating tree planting and watershed protection. He is also a book writer and publisher of biographical and coffee-table books.)