Well, there is no truth to the words circulating in the grapevine that the promotions companies of Americans Bob Arum and Oscar dela Joya are fighting tooth and nail to promote the now much-talked-about boxing bout between Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III.
Arum and Dela Joya would rather be at ringside to witness the bout and possibly wager on their favorite fighter. And possibly they might recommend boxing icons Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and perhaps Mike Tyson as judges in the fight.
And was there a possibility that the last words by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to U.S. President Donald Trump before he left that American country for his return trip back home were a personal invitation for the US leader to come and join him to witness the Duterte-Torre match at a still undisclosed venue.
And think about it – Mayor Baste wants the match done as early as this coming Sunday, a day before the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos, Jr.
Of course, General Torre would not want the match done on Sunday. He has a big responsibility in ensuring that the President’s SONA is secured in its venue and in the surrounding areas of the Batasan complex.
Levity aside, why are officials in our government, like city mayor Baste and the highest-ranking official of the PNP, allowing themselves to be carried away with their personal anger? Imagine a mayor of a leading city in the Philippines stooping down too low just to spite the man who led the arrest of his father!
And imagine too, the chief of the PNP, though jokingly accepting the challenge of the mayor to a boxing bout, sort of setting as a condition that it be done as a charity event!
Can they not show some finesse in character and professionalism in their action, they being supposed examples of good citizens of the country?
What is happening to our Philippines?
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From the separate announcements made by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Office of the Vice President that the agencies are providing free transportation on certain routes during peak hours, it is now clear that Davao City is not really having a problem of humongous vehicular traffic at certain hours of the day. Rather, the real problem, which is now being overtly addressed, is the lack of public transportation.
Yes, earlier the OVP announced that some bus units are being fielded to service passengers from and to certain areas in the city. The other day, no less than the Secretary of the DOTr came over to Davao City to officiate the launch of the free ride buses serving the Lasang through Sasa down to Roxas route and back. The buses will be fielded in early morning up to 9 a.m. and late afternoon to 8 pm.
What then does this mean? What else but the reality of the lack of public transport to cater to the needs of commuters from the places specified?
But what kind of solution is this? Is the provision of free bus rides using government-authorized vehicles a lasting response? Or, is it merely to assuage the rising temper of the commuters whose activities in their respective destinations are curtailed because of the lack of transportation?
Why can’t the government, both local and national, come up with measures that will help interested entrepreneurs invest in the transportation business, like convincing financial institutions to grant vehicle acquisition loans with very affordable interest rates as long as the vehicle will be for public utility?
And this loan extension should not require the organization of would-be operators into a cooperative. Instead, the prospective investors in public transport can go solo. Going into cooperatives should only be an option.
Yes, we believe that helping individuals acquire motor vehicles for public transportation business is the better and lasting solution to the problem of a lack of public utility vehicles in Davao City.
By mandating the formation of cooperatives among operators and those who intend to become one is to us, an affront to the Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom to engage in enterprise.
