American Expat in The Philippines, Cagayan de Oro City

As a member of the Cagayan de Oro Eagles Club, I was briefed on the implementation of LTO Administrative Order AHS 2008-015.

• Pursuant to Executive Order No. 292 otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987 and the United Nations Vienna Convention for Road Traffic of 1968 to which the Philippines is a signatory, and in accordance with Department Order No. 93-693, series of 1992, the following rules and regulations shall govern the use and operation of motorcycles on roads and highways.

This is really a great idea.  An American just cannot imagine the street and driving conditions here unless he visits here.  When I first came to the Philippines I swore I would never ever drive here, but after a few years, I began to understand the way traffic flowed and defensive driving practices employed because some people have not defensive driving skills at all.

You can find the full text of the new law here.

I understand these rules and regulations came from the United Nations Vienna Convention for Road Traffic of 1968, and that the Philippines is a signatory to that convention.

However, agreeing to it and implementing it are two totally separate things.

I have seen as many as 7 people on one motorcycle.

Here you can see, from left to right, the first motorcycle has no mirrors and the “back-rider” (passenger) is not wearing a helmet. The 2nd motorcyclist has no helmet and apparently some tag problem. The motorcycle in the foregrounds has 1 excess back-rider, and both back-riders do not have helmets.

The new law wants to change it to just a driver and a single passenger.  In the States this is common, you don’t  carry a 3rd passenger unless you have a sidecar.

A man has 3 children to take to school in the morning and it is already quite a chore for him, even if the school is only 5 km away, due to the rough roads it migh take him an hour to get there.   Is he expected to take 3 trips to bring all his children to school?

Here we see a motorcyclist deciding to turn around before going through the checkpoint. He has a helmet on his arm, but not on his head. I’ve wondered before how much more damage wearing a helmet on ones arm instead of on ones head might cause. Multiple fractures of the arm? He’s also wearing sandals. He just saved 2000 pesos by turning around. There are no pursuit vehicles, so there’s no one to chase him down.

DOT certified helmets have been the standard in the USA when I first began riding motorcycles seriously, but people here wear construction helmets, and bicycle helmets and often no helmet at all.

There’s a provision that penalizes drivers for wearing slippers or sandals.

There are provisions that I think should be implemented right away.  For instance I have nearly run over several motorcycles operating at night with no lights on at all.

But there are some provisions in the law that make little sense, like making or upgrading your bike without prior consent of the LTO.  My wife’s bike I had 14 inch rims installed to replce the 17 inch rims, to make the seat 1.5 inches closer to the ground so her feet could touch.

I bet less than 10% of motorcycles in the Philippines would pass these requirements.

Above, the first driver has no helmet. The second one, only the driver has a helmet, and both riders are wearing sandals.

I have come close to running over motorcycles at night because they did not have any lights.  In some cases the operator of the motorcycle acts as if it’s my fault he and his wife and four children nearly died because I didn’t see him coming.  The other night I was pulling into an intersection and I saw one motorela coming and just his lights dimming out and then coming back on and luckily for me and for them, I took a more careful look and realized that another motorela without lights had just passed the one with lights.  The only reason I saw the one without lights was because he had eclipsed the one with lights.

It’s not like we are talking about major steering adjustments that must be made because the maximum speed allowed in The Philippines is 80 kph.

So, while I think these laws are all for the good, they sholud  be phased in over a period of time.  Not all the clauses of this act are needed, but for the most part this act is needed, I just do not see it being implemented.

I saw two vehicles this evening on the ride home with no tail lights, and I thought, in Miami Beach, these cars wouldn’t make it 2 miles before being pulled over and swarmed by cop cars.

Officer Butawan J.D., a member of the RTA gave me a parking ticket the other day, and I would like to congratulate him for a job well done.  He is a well trained officer who is not afraid to do his job, and I would like to congratulate General Filipino Amoguis for bringing the RTA to a place where is now noticeably effective.

Due to the violence that occurred on August 17, 2008 in Iligan and some other places futher away from here, Cayagayan de Oro City Police Senior Superintendant Isagani Genabe, Jr., implemented a plan to increase police visibility in Cagayan de Oro because of the coming St. Agustine Fiesta, which essentially lasts for a week, ending on August 28, and as a result I was issued a COCPO Police ID, which I could wear around the streets.

The ID does not give me any actual police powers, it just makes me a member the Police “Support Group”, like I’m the water boy or something.  Still the “POLICE” is spelled in large letters and the “Support Group” spelled in small letters underneath.

In the next photo you can see that I am parked right in front of the Provincial Capital along with a lot of other cars.  I did not see any “No Parking” signs.  I had a letter to deliver to the Governor’s Office and since I had never been inside the Provincial Capital before, never had a reason to, I figured I would just deliver the letter myself and get a look see.  You can see the Police ID in my windshield but it is difficult to make out, that’s why I provided the above photo.

Now in the next photo you can see that I have a ticket and it precisely covering up my Police ID.    This RTA Butawan, J.D., knew what he was doing, and he did things properly.  After I saw the ticked I looked around and did see a sign that said “Keep Right Lane Clear” and had a big P with the circle and a slash through it.  The paint was mostly worn off of it, but it was still readable.

When I  told one individual this he was like “Oh, that’s too bad, he shouldn’t have given you that ticket with that Police ID”.  I explained to him I didn’t see it that way.  That ID did not give me the authority to park in a no-parking area and the fact that the guy gave me a ticket despite the ID proves he is well-trained and knows what he’s doing.

That’s the first time I can say I have ever been proud to get a ticket.

Michael Turner: It has been months since I have seen you. I understand that you just got back from the United States where you and several other senior officers attended a special course. What kind of the course was that?

Colonel Montalba : Actually it was a continuation of our Public Safety Officer Senior Executive Course. It included exposure to a more advanced police systems especially in terms of technology. We were able to observe and find out how the United States police system worked.

There were 37 of us who took the course. All senior officers from Mindanao.

This is a special training course because it serves as the stepping stone for us to be promoted one rank higher. You will not be recommended for promotion unless you go through this last phase of schooling.

Michael Turner Is it compulsory for every senior officer to attend the U.S. special course?

Colonel Montalba There are times when the senior officers will not be able to join the U.S. course primarily because of budgetary restrictions. Although the government helped us with the financial requirements, we also spent for our own. The FBI also helped.

The schooling was sponsored by the FBI. They toured us around and even took us to the Los Angeles Police Department and California’s Police Academy.

Michael Turner I know that the law enforcement system is very different than it is here in The Philippes. In fact I was surprised to find out that there were no “local police” forces. For instance, that the members of the Cagayan de Oro Police Office are all Philippine Natioinal Police. In The States we have County Sheriffs and City Police, which are independent. Then we have State Police, like in Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and then we have the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which is kind of lke a State mini-FBI. Then we have national police forces like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which is under the Department of the Treasury. The US Coast Guard also used to be a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of the Treasury, but it is now under Homeland Security during peacetime, and under the US Navy during wartime. Then, of course be have the CIA, the FBI, NSA, Customs, Immigration and other law enforement bodies.

Colonel Montalba Yes, they have. Their system is different. Their local police, like the LAPD, is not controlled by a national office. It is controlled only by the Los Angeles government.

Michael Turner So what happens is they’re chasing a criminal and they go out of their boundary?

Colonel Montalba It’s not really a problem for them because they are equipped with modern technology. They can pass on the information easily.

Michael Turner: Actually, if they are in hot pursuit of a vehicle local police or sheriffs can pass into other local jurisdictions, but with radios and all the police cards, other agencies would quickly get involved and chase down the guy.

Colonel Montalba At the headquarters, the LAPD has 18 helicopters on-call, so it’s easy for them to carry out a hot pursuit.

Big cities like California, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas have their own police.

They have an extremely highly technological communication system. Like the one we saw at the LAPD. At their headquarters, the communication center is divided and a different group controls communication for each block. Once there is a call for police assistance, the communication center immediately receives the call and passes it on to a waiting location officer. These are like on-call police officers who are ready to take on any call. They are not necessarily out in the streets but can be inside the headquarters.

Michael Turner How sophisticated is their equipment compared to what we have in Cagayan de Oro?

Colonel Montalba There is no comparison. Our technology is primative here compared to theirs. Aside from advance technology, there are different forces, like you mentioned, with a similar nature of work like the FBI and Sheriff’s Office. So if a major calamity occurs and they join their forces together, it will be easy for them to consolidate.

Their local government is intact. It is really local in scope which means the offices are close to each other. Centralized communication and action is easier. It’s like a big compound. In one building, you can find most of the departments and offices like the city hall and SWAT.

Michael Turner What about internal security? In buildings, commercial centers? Do they have cameras?

Colonel Montalba: Yes, they have cameras. Even in commercial centers.

Also, their subdivisions have traffic lights so movements are systematic. And everything is linked to the communication center.

Their system is also televised so it is easy to monitor movements and happenings. If somebody is caught throwing trash or smoking in an area where he shouldn’t be doing so, people will notice him. So it is better to always follow the rules.

Michael Turner: What system do you think would be applicable to us here, despite the fact that USA technology is way more advanced than here in the Philippines?

Colonel Montalba: There are quite a few that we can actually adopt. Like the attitude of the police officers. The only things we’ll find difficult to adopt will be the budget and ultramodern technology.

In terms of traffic enforcement, we have a lot to learn. Most of the buildings have parking spaces so the cars do not crowd the streets and traffic enforcers have lesser headaches. They also have complete and functioning automated traffic lights. Traffic enforcement is usually done inside the building. Again, this is where their communication center comes in.

Michael Turner What did you do at the FBI headquarters?

Colonel Montalba We toured and observed their areas, facilities, and system of working. They also showed us their new equipment which were all highly sophisticated.

Michael Turner What else did you observe at the Police Academy?

Colonel Montalba: From the time we arrived up to the time we left, we heard loud shots coming from their firing range, where their police regularly practice their shooting skills. All of them are required to regularly practice unlike here in our country. Sometimes, we do not have enough bullets so that we, officers, are obligated to buy the supply on our own.

They have a very wide firing range.

Michael Turner Yeah, I have heard that PNP officers are allocated 18 bullets every 6 monthts to practice their shooting skills.

So, Were there other nationalities who took the course?

Colonel Montalba Yes. There were different groups.

Michael Turner What is the main focus of the FBI?

Colonel Montalba The main concentration of the FBI is anti-terrorism. The local police also help out but are more focused on criminality in their area.

Coordination is easy for them. And every department has a canine/K9 unit. Here in the country, most of the K9 units are found in Manila and national offices. They are very seldom found in the local/provincial units.

In the U.S., one canine is assigned one police officer.

Michael Turner You prepared an individual thesis as a result of your schooling, right? What is this all about?

Colonel Montalba My thesis is on the Intensive Peace and Order Program of Cagayan de Oro. The main focus is the reduction of crime in the city in order to main peace and order.

My thesis has actually been implemented and in fact, it contains a comparison of our city’s crime volume before and after implementation of my program. There is a significant reduction of crimes committed.

There is a great possibility that my thesis will be permanently adopted into a city ordinance. If this happens, it will also greatly help the city’s street children who are prone to crime and prostitution.

On the night of the Miss Cagayan de Oro beauty pageant held at the Atrium, Limketkai mall, I was accosted by a pickpocket.

I had two cameras.  One in my fanny back in front of me, that was covered by a pack of cigarettes, so I was fairly confident a pickpocket could not get deep down into my fanny pack without me knowing it.

After shortly arriving and finding a good location, Stage Right, to take photos of the contestents and video them, using my Sony DCR-TRV340 (which has a tape motor malfunction and can only record to Sony memory sticks, but has a whopping 25x optical zoom) I used mostly that to take photos.

After a while of taking videos and photos I checked my fanny pack to find that it was fully unzipped.  I left this to my own mistake, zipped it back up, and continued taking photos, but after a few minutes I decided to check my fanny pack again and it was again fully unzipped.  Knowing at this point that someone was trying to pick my fanny pack, I grabbed the right hand and the neck of the man in front of me and asked him, quite quietly, “Do you wish to die?” Telling him further that I would yank his head from his body.

The fear and guilt that glittered in his eyes clearly showed me he was the culprit, yet I let him go, and to such act, I owe an apology to other attendees.  There were plenty of police around.  In my selfish state of mind I would lose photo opportunities to turn this guy in.

In retrospect, I realize that the guy was working with his back to me, so he had an accomplice.  Had I had my wits about me I could have probably easily identified the accomplice, and snatched them both over to the side of the atrium to call the PNP officers to detain them.  I believe I have a 24 hour period to file blotter case against them.

But I did nothing, and let the man go.  How many other pockets did he pick that night?

It is easy to 2nd guess oneself.  One thought was that had I hauled this guy off and had him arrested, he might have pulled some icepick or knife and really hurt me.

I was interviewing an Xavier University 4th-year male nursing student who is keenly interested in SEO (Search Enginee Optimization), to do some work for me, and in the process he also “interviewed” me, asking a lot about what I thought about life in The  Philippines.

(Normally, I take no part in hiring and firing for my company, but this job is more of a personal hire, for someone to do research and academic-related type work, and not for client-related work.)

I ended up talking about how The Philippines is in, and has been in, a  state of change, from frontier lawlessness to a democratic land of law and order, but that the change will take at least another generation to come to fruition.  The Philippines is a land of moral conflict, not only between different political factions and families, but very much and deeply so on a personal level as well.

To illustrate my point I used the 1962 classic Western movie “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, directed by John Ford.

James Stewart plays the part of “Ransom Stoddard”, a tenderfoot attorney, who believes in the rule of law and order, that justice is to be meted out by duly appointed courts of law and government, and refuses to carry a gun, and for good reason as he does not know how to use one.

John Wayne plays the part of Tom Doniphon, a local rancher who believes that the courts and laws do not apply to frontier territory, and that a man must carry a gun and be willing to settle his own disputes, the cowboy ethic.

Lee Marvin plays the part of Liberty Valance, a local gunslinger who works for area land barons who want the territory to never attain statehood.  Essentially, he is hired muscle by those who can afford to hire people like Liberty Valance to intimidate the locals and thereby do whatever they want.  Might makes right, the cowboy ethic, the same philosophy as Doniphon, who is really the most noble of all the characters in the movie.

At one point Doniphon says, “Liberty Valance is the toughest man South of the Picket Wire, after me”.  The “Picket Wire” refers to the Purgatoire River in South-East Colorado, which essentially places the events unfolding in the movie as happening in what is now the State of Arizona, although it is never actually mentioned in the movie, where the town of “Shinbone” is actually located.

The movie opens at the end, where Stoddard is now a U.S. Senator and past governor and congressman of an unmentioned State.  He and his wife have traveled back to Shinbone to attend the funeral of Doniphon, who by this time is a “nobody”, and Stoddard is interviewed by a reporter to find out why he would travel all the way from Washington to attend the funeral of Doniphon.

During the interview Stoddard reveals the truth of how it came to be that Liberty Valance was killed and the rest of the story is told in flash back.

Stoddard initially went to Shinbone to set up a law practice, but before he got to town he was robbed, severely beaten and left for dead by Valance.  Doniphon finds Stoddard and brings him to town where he is nurtured back to health by friends of Doniphon.

Valance terrorizes the town causing disturbance after disturbance in town and in the local saloons, and berates Stoddard witheringly.

There is a convention to elect two representatives to the territorial capital and Valance attempts to bully the locals into electing him, but Stoddard and the local “Shinbone Star” newspaper publisher “Peabody” win the seats themselves.  After this, Valance beats Peabody nearly to death and challenges Stoddard to a duel, which Stoddard accepts.

In the dark street Valance draws first and fires once at the ground at the feet of Stoddard and then once over his head, giving Stoddard, unskilled with a gun, the shakes.  As Valance takes aim to kill Stoddard, Stoddard draws his revolver and fires it, and Valance drops to the ground dead.

Stoddard becomes an instant hero, and ends up marrying the girlfriend of Doniphon, and goes on to become congressmen, governor, and senator of what becomes a new State of the United States (the name of the State is never mentioned).

Doniphon later reveals to Stoddard that it was actually Doniphon, lurking in the shadows with a rifle, that actually killed Valance, timing his shot with Stoddard’s own.  Doniphon never tells anyone this, taking this secret to the grave with him.

It was this secret that Stoddard reveals to the newspaper reporter when he returns for the funeral of Doniphon.  The newspaper editor refuses to publish the story and destroys the reporter’s notes, saying “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend”.

Valance is the only main character who does not violate his own code of ethics, even though he is really the only truly “bad guy” in the movie.  Both Stoddard and Doniphon, though each has different and contrary codes of ethics, violate their own principles, but they do so for the sake of goodness and justice, so that the law and order ethic can, in the end, prevail.

Stoddard violates his law and order by taking up the cowboy ethic and taking the law into his own hands and facing Valance on the street.  He also allows the lie to live that he was the one that shot Valance and rode the hero sum gravy-train to political power, wealth and fame.  Yet he violates his own principles to bring about law and order, to institute that which he really believes in.

Doniphon violates his cowboy ethic by not facing Valance himself, hiding in the shadows to kill him.  He also fails to face the issue of his girlfriend leaving him for Stoddard, thus allowing or causing her to go with Stoddard, which I thought was a bit of personal cowardice, though it is not relevant to what I am trying to elucidate here.

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” exemplifies how I see The Philippines’ state of law and order and justice.  The Philippines is still frontier land, where the government’s law and order justice is not always meted out fairly and sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, the might-makes-right philosophy, where a man must settle his own problems, outside of law, is the right way to bring about justice.

In that sense also, there is also a lot of injustice in this country.  Characters like “Liberty Valance” abound here, and they get away with robbery, murder and intimidation.  The law, the courts, the government cannot stop these people.  Sometimes such outlaws are backed by the very rich or by powerful organizations.

For the Philippines to fully come to be a land of law and order, as in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, the cowboy ethic is going to have to be applied to rid the country of those opposed to the law and order ethic.

In Shinbone, the moral conflicts and boundary crossings of Stoddard and Doniphon lead to the establishment of law and order and equally applied justice.  It is a story-book scenario as in “they lived happily ever after”, but The Philippines is still a nation of plurality, where injustice comes easily and justice with difficulty.

Why do I live in The Philippines if I feel this way?  Because everybody has to be somewhere, and I actually like it here, and sometimes it as if I am witnessing the birth of a nation, a nation still struggling for footing, a nation still forming finding its own way.  Filipinos may not see it that way, but I see a country that is rapidly evolving and has potential for a great future.

I mentioned this to another American Ex-pat, and he said it would be the year 2050 before law and order was fully in effect in The Philippines.  That’s closer to two generations than the one generation I had predicted, and in retrospect, I suppose he’s right.

Local Applicants can apply for full government scholarship to the PMA (Philippine Military Academy), this coming Sunday, August 31, 2008, at the Camp Evangalista Gym.

Walk-in applicants are accepted.

Requirements:

• Applicants should be natural-born Filipinos, of good moral character and physically fit, single and never married. Height requirements are 5’4″ (162.5 cm) for males and 5’2″ (157.5 cm) for females.
• For high-school graduates, all applicants must be not a day older than 21 and not a day younger than 17 years on April 1 of the year of their submission. They must have a minimum GPA of 85%.
• For college graduates and those with advanced degrees such as masters and doctorate degrees, the age limit is somewhat higher.

Walk-ins must arrive early, between 6:30 AM and 7:00 AM to submit their applications.  Forms will be provided on-site.

For those who have already applied online, please bring your issued permit to verify and trace your previously submitted application.

All applicaants should bring their NSO-certified birth certificate, high school form 137 or report card.  College graduates should bring transcript records.  Everyone should bring two #2 pencils, 2 valid IDs, and two 2″x2″ ID-type color photos.

Captain John Barrameda, an instructor at PMA, and a local resident of Cagayan de Oro, advised me that it used to be that only two students per year were admited to PMA from CdO, but the past few years at least 10 have been accepted from Cagayan de Oro each year.

Captain Barrameda suggested that reading through a college exam reviewer because many of the questions on the PMA exam are similar to those on regular college entrance exams.

If you do not pass the exam the firt time you may take it again.

If you are accepted to the PMA, your educational, room & boarding and allowance will be PHP 14,000 per month.  Of this money, only PHP 3000 per month is given to the cadet, and what money is left over, after room and board, books and academic charges, is put into a savings account for the cadet, which he or she may draw on during holidays and for visits home.

My kind of Filipino

I was fortunate to run into Court of Appeals Justice Jose L. Sabio, Jr., today at Robinson’s, at Limketkai Mall today where Robinson’s Manager Rotarian Danny Camat took a photo of us together.

Judge Sabio recently reported that a litigant in a case he was presiding over offered him a bribe.  Before trying to bribe Judge Sabio, the litigants in the case should have done a little research.  Sabio is a member of the Philippine Judicial Academy’s Ethics and Judicial Conduct Department and the Ateneo Law School’s Pre-Bar review on Legal and Judicial Ethics.  Duh!

The case is in which the bribe was offered was between Meralco (Manila Electric Company) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). The president of GSIS is Winston Garcia, who I met at the Cagayan de Oro airport last week, on July 31, 2008, when he visited the local GSIS office, but shucks, I was unable to get a photo taken of Winston Garcia and myself together.  He had a pretty hard-core security detail, but I was able to get a photo of him.

GSIS is a major shareholder/investor in Meralco which is run by the Lopez family.

Apparently, GSIS was trying to wrest control of Meralco from the Lopez family.  I’m not real familiar with the case.  I have a life, a family, and a business to run and cannot afford the time to know all news cases like this that have little effect on my every day life, and which I have absolutely no influence over whatsoever.

Apparently, one of the parties offered Judge Sabio 10 million pesos to recuse (inhibit) himself from the case.  He not only refused, he wrote a letter of complaint to the appellate court’s presiding justice, Conrado Vasquez, Jr. where Sabio said someone from the Meralco side offered him the bribe to pass the case on to another justice.

I am not very fond of Philippine Electric companies, as is evident from a couple of blog posts from few months ago about Cepalco and Republic Act No. 7832, and their propensity to sue over The Anti-electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.

To me, it looks like Sabio will be taken off the case now because of his letter complaining about the bribe, which is just what Meralco wanted.  And Meralco saves 10 million pesos.  They get to have their cake and eat it, too.  Such is the price of honor.

On a recent visit to an expat American’s nipa hut residence, I witnessed what appreared to be a termite “bloom”.  The local resident expert, another expat American, Jil Wrinkle, told us that what we were witnessing was a “termite bloom” and that it would only last about an hour, and then the termites would lose their wings and drop to the ground and mate.

I did not observe any actual matings between the insects.

However, what I did initially doubt, what I was told about their swarming the lights only lasting an hour or so, came true.  In less than an hour all the flying termites were gone and there were a lot of little wings scattered about.

The area was populated with a large assortment of lizards from just a couple of inches long to more than a foot long.  I also noticed that after the termites quit flying there were many toads about on the ground, hopping from spot to spot, apparently feasting on the now wingless termites that were perpectively mating.

On July 17, 2008, Cagayan Traffic Czar, General Filipino Amoguis, granted me this interview so that I might better understand the changes in the traffic routing and street law enforcement around the City of Cagayan de Oro.   Both he and I are member of the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro (The Mother Club), and also members of the Philippine Eagles Club of Cagayan de Oro.  Still, he’s one tough guy, and I granted him no leeway and asked some very tough questions.  He always had a good answer.  This is one guy who is not slacking in his job, and I would encourage all Cagayanons to support his efforts.  He is a tough guy in a tough position.   He’s not making a lot of friends, but he is doing the right thing, I am convinced of this.

Michael Turner:    I heard that there is a very visible improvement with the Traffic Management Group in Cagayan de Oro. What are these improvements?’

General Amoguis: We have pinpointed 2 major problems regarding traffic management in Cagayan de Oro. One is the organization itself of traffic issuance, or the enforcers; and the second one is the problem of street users. To address these problems, we have developed a vision for the RTA which has now become the basis of our program. Our vision is: The RTA is committed to evolve cultured traffic environment through professionalized traffic enforcers and disciplined street users with the active support of the division.  To achieve this, we have to discipline the drivers and train enforcers to be professional.

Michael Turner: Talking about professionalizing the traffic enforcers, what have you done so far?

General Amoguis: We conducted an aptitude test to find out the extent of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of our enforcers. It turned out that only 51% passed. It is quite alarming. So I immediately activated the RTA Training and Education Center, so that we crafted the syllabus for the training of our traffic enforcers. We conducted training last June 16 up to July 3; a specialized course on traffic enforcement. Three of the enforcers were not able to cope with the training which has 3 different maps: physical, mental, and spiritual. 37 graduated and these are the ones we see in the streets now. They are highly trained individuals. They are organized by teams. These are the people who will be deployed in the 5 zones organized by us, because we divided the city into 5 zones: eastern, western, southern, northern and central. In each zone, we will be developing a model discipline zone.

Our ultimate objective is to develop discipline zones in every street. To start this, we have to first develop a model discipline zone.

Michael Turner: You mean the ones marked with a yellow line?’

General Amoguis: Not necessarily. Once a street is assigned as a model discipline zone, it will include the whole package: no parking, loading and unloading. And then we incorporated a load-unload and go or pick, drop, and go policy so that we can avoid congestion. Meaning, jeepney drivers will not line up to pick up passengers anymore. This is what you call “alley”. There is a bad effect for this; passengers will be delayed because from the point of origin up to the point of destination, they stop at least 10 times at illegal terminals.

Michael Turner:I have something to point out, though with regard to this alley thing. Near the Gaston Park area, especially for jeepneys going to Balulang and Xavier Heights, this alley system has not been effectively stopped. I think a round-the-clock presence of the RTA is important in areas like this.

General Amoguis: There is actually a specific Area Of Responsibility (AOR) for traffic. The specific AOR is the street only. It is not like the police wherein you can go to any nook during your beat. For traffic, it is only the street, either point or the whole crossing, or the whole expanse.

We are professionalizing because we observed an attitudinal problem with our RTA enforcers. They disappear from the streets and it creates embarrassment not only for the RTA leadership but also for the city leadership. This is what we’re trying to protect because the RTA is the frontline organization of the city government. The street is the show window of the city, therefore, we should have, at least within a 24-hour period, from the early morning up to late in the evening, somebody who will conduct the traffic. In fact, this is included in the program we are currently developing. We will be having night patrol operations. This newly trained team is called the Special Traffic Enforcement Team.

Michael Turner: Are they deployed now?

General Amoguis: Yes.

We have a new strategy now wherein the routes will be marked. The streets these drivers use will also be marked with this is intended for route 1, route 2, and route 3. We will use specific numbering for easy identification. We are also coordinating with the LTFRB that if they violate their route, their vehicle will be impounded.

We had a model driver seminar, a free seminar intended for all drivers, so they will become educated about traffic regulations and policies. We are also imposing on the drivers the philosophy that drivers are the first line enforcers and educators in the streets. That’s why there are drivers who try to discipline their passengers.

There is what we call the “door-to-door delivery syndrome” when we talk about the Cagayan de Oro riding public, which means that if a passenger is not delivered to a specific area, he gets mad and complains.

Michael Turner:  What happened to the drivers now? Were they given an examination? Do they know what the traffic rules and regulations are supposed to be?

General Amoguis: We observed that some drivers are still undisciplined. 100 drivers caught in Cagayan de Oro were given a diagnostic examination and only one passed. 99 failed the exam on basic traffic rules which they are supposed to be familiar with.

Michael Turner: You mean the LTO issues license to these people even if they do not know basic traffic rules and regulations?

General Amoguis:They were given, yes. But some of them got their license from other provinces. We are very stringent in our efforts to catch drivers with warrants. But there are those who have already been served warrants and cannot apply for license here, since we have a very strict LTO, who go to other LTO agencies.

The 99% who failed the diagnostic exam are the identifiable ones who park anywhere or alley, and who do not know how to respect traffic directions.’

Michael Turner: What happened to the 99 who failed the diagnostic exam?

General Amoguis: That is our subject now in our indoctrination.
That’s why we crafted the free model driver seminar. They have to take the seminar. All transport organizations in the city are required to have their drivers attend the seminar. In addition to that, we have a seminar for the owners because we need to have their vehicles properly maintained so that it won’t cause problems while in the road; so that we will not have traffic congestion because of one jeepney’s problem.

Michael Turner: How do you re-assess or re-evaluate these drivers?

General Amoguis: After conducting the model driver seminar to some transport owners and drivers, we noticed that traffic was slightly reduced. And so, we had to suspend the momentum by training our enforcers, so that those who did not attend our program will be able to employ the full force of the ordinance. So the enforcers are now trained to strictly carry out the ordinance. The instruction to them is: do not conduct traffic direction; your role is to apprehend. It is now the time of reckoning.

Michael Turner: What happens to those who have 3 or more accumulated violations?

General Amoguis:Actually, we always file cases in court. We have 7,000 drivers who were filed in court and have pending warrants. Some of these drivers are no longer in Cagayan de Oro. Some are still driving and they are the subject of our manhunt. That’s why when we accost a driver; we refer it immediately to our warrant record.

Michael Turner: What happens to those who have 3 or more accumulated violations?

General Amoguis: Actually, we always file cases in court. We have 7,000 drivers who were filed in court and have pending warrants. Some of these drivers are no longer in Cagayan de Oro. Some are still driving and they are the subject of our manhunt. That’s why when we accost a driver; we refer it immediately to our warrant record.

Michael Turner: Do you have an agreement with LTO that they should not issue license to these people who have warrants of arrest?

General Amoguis: Recently, the LTO, including the LTFRB, had a memorandum of agreement with the mayor. It was signed last May. That agreement includes our joint operations and the list of drivers who have been issued warrants.

Unfortunately, there are some drivers whom we’ve caught, who changed their names. For example, Rolando becomes Orlando. This is a serious violation so we have to file another case against them.

Michael Turner: What is the LTO doing about this?

General Amoguis:Actually, this may not be deemed as the LTO’s fault since the drivers were able to show evidences purporting to their names, like they may have changed their residence certificate or birth certificate.

That’s why in our model driver seminar, we always point out to the drivers the fact that they are professionals. So they have no reason to be undisciplined because they are professionals.

Now with regard to uniform, we will no longer tolerate short pants, sando, and slippers. I also gave out an order to remove all wirings inside jeepneys so that there will be no more loud music. This is actually an old ordinance already, “no sound system inside the jeepney”. But we already commissioned people to undertake this job, in addition to the RTA, like in Bugo. Under the leadership of Barangay Captain Potane, Bugo is now very active in disciplining the drivers, especially those who have very loud sounds inside the jeepney.

Another way of disciplining the driver is by asking his passengers to transfer to another jeepney when he is accosted. After the passengers transfer, that is when we begin the lecture. To avoid congestion while this is going on, our deployment of teams is organized in accordance to what we perceive to be the exact number in every team. Every team has 8 people but only around 3 of them will accost the driver. In some cases, we send them referral slips. So if the driver is caught, he is immediately sent to the RTA education center.

For now, we’re toying with the idea of basing the number of RTA enforcers needed with the number of population. So we’ll need around 300 to 500 RTAs. We only have 200 right now and some are doing administrative and engineering work in the office. They are divided into different shifts. Only 5 teams are for traffic enforcement.

Michael Turner:  For how many minutes is a driver allowed to stay in an area to pick up or unload passengers?

General Amoguis: Once a passenger goes up the jeepney, the driver must go. If he unloads and nobody rides, he must go immediately after unloading. It is more a judgment of the RTA and the driver. It is our objective that in the future, drivers will be disciplined enough to properly judge on their own without the aid of the RTA.

Michael Turner: What about the element of fear? Sometimes the element of fear is more practical.

General Amoguis:As soon as we have additional enforcers, we will deploy more RTA in highly strategic points; in critical streets like Vamenta, Recto: from Velez to Megacenter; Borja: from Capistrano to Quirino; Osmeña: from C.M. Recto to Cogon Market, Abejuela, and Gaerlan. There are 10 selected model discipline zones to be addressed by 5 teams. The presence of RTA enforcers will develop fear among the drivers.

We have also taught our enforcers to practice value formation. We have trained them against accepting kotong, or bribe money. In fact, some enforcers have already reported about drivers offering bribe money.

Michael Turner: What do you have to say about the controversial issue of the RTA enforcing sidewalk regulations?

General Amoguis: That’s one of the concerns we will address. We have people who are now undergoing the Traffic Control Safety Course. These are the people who will direct the traffic to compliment our enforcers. After this, we will have the Pedestrian Control Course. This already includes the ambulant vendors.

Michael Turner: These vendors usually ply their trades in the sidewalks. How do you prevent controversies like the complaints of ambulant vendors that there were high-handed tactics employed by the RTA?

General Amoguis: You know, there are always complaints. We investigate any of these complaints. We have, however, created a task force called Task Force Scraper whose main task is to clean the streets from illegal vendors. These illegal vendors do not pay taxes.

Task Force Scraper is composed of RTA enforcers. There are also civilians who are authorized to join the task force in order to help carry out their mission. These are volunteers who are also RTA applicants. We follow an apprenticeship process for anybody who want to join the RTA. These people are not paid.

We follow a stringent monitoring. These volunteers are only to help and assist the RTA enforcers. We also observe rules of engagement in implementing this activity. This includes observance of the rule of law, observance of human rights, issuing of tickets or receipts for all confiscated items. Every item must be deposited immediately.

There was a time when one of the fairly new volunteers was caught stealing a pair of shoes. We immediately returned the stolen item to the owner and reprimanded the volunteer. We did not allow him to join us anymore. After that, so far, there have been no other reports of similar incidences.

Before we operate, we survey which areas are proliferated by vendors. And then we give a lecture on the doctrine of regularity, which is basically about knowing what is right and what is wrong.

Michael Turner:Are you going to add to the number of your enforcers? It seems that your number is not enough to come up with an effective traffic management scheme.

General Amoguis:That’s true. Our number is really not adequate enough. Our city only has 8 traffic lights. We have 38 critical crossings in the city versus 8 traffic lights. So our people are dedicated to performing the functions of traffic lights. So it really is not enough in terms of manpower.

We are encouraging applicants to undergo the transitory program of volunteering to be acquainted with the job. I have a pending job order for 50 additional RTA enforcers.

We are professionalizing our enforcers by having a qualifications standard, by letting them pass the Civil Service Eligibility, and by passing the standard requirements of an enforcer like psychological preparedness. Since we are uniformed, it will encourage more enforcers if they are ranked.

I already met with Congressman Rufus Rodriguez and he asked me to prepare a bill on traffic enforcement, which I passed earlier this month (July).

For RTA enforcers, the age requirement is from 21 to 65. A baccalaureate degree is preferred though we also accept college undergraduates. In the past, we had elementary graduates. But now we only accept high school graduates.

Michael Turner:What happened to the 49 enforcers who did not pass your exam?

General Amoguis: We did not only focus on the aptitude test. We also focused on the interviews to find out their psychological well-being.

We look at the RTA as a public safety bureau which functions in pretty much the same way as the Bureau of Fire and other safety bureaus in uniform. So the salary of RTA enforcers should be equal with them also. This will help boost the morale of our enforcers.

People look at RTA enforcers as “buwaya”, that’s why drivers often bribe them. Our aim is to bring this down to the level of the lizard, which is definitely a harmless creature.

My brother-in-law said when he driving home last night he saw a snake in the road.  I asked him why he didn’t catch it.  Some snakes are valuable.  Some are more valuable than others, but you really have to catch them first, so that you can ID them, otherwise they are gone.

A couple of weeks ago, as I was getting ready to leave the house, I heard a screeching sound and turned around to see a snake with a frog in it’s mouth headed for the bushes.  I always have a camera ready but not ready enough.  By the time I got it out and turned on, the snake had disappeared into the bushes with his lunch.

Okay, I’ll buy snakes.   You catch them, I’ll buy them.  Depending on the type of snake, it’s length, width and weight, I’ll by your snakes.  If you have caught a wild snake and wish to sell him, post a comment on this blog and provide email address  so that I can contact you and get photos and other details about the snake.

We have water moccasins where I come from, in Northern Florida, sometimes called Cottenmouth Moccasins.  They are very agrressive snakes.  For instance a Diamond Back Rattle Snake will flee from you, and only if you corner it with no place for it to hide will it turn aggressive.  Moccasins, on the other hand, turn aggressive even when they are not cornered.  They are more territorial.

I remember one day, in my 20′s I was scoping out my family farm in North Florida, looking for deer trails and where they intersected to find  premium place to put a tree stand.   At one point, where two trails crossed I paused to get my bearings and think about what way the deer were travelling.  I happened to look down and there was a coiled Moccasin just 3 or four inches from my left foot.  He had a head on him about 3 inches wide and while he appreared to be asleep, a sudden adrenaline rush came over me and instead of fleeing I jumped straight up into the air, with no trajectory in mind.  I just jumped straight up in the air.

In situations like this time slows to a crawl and the mind goes into super-fast mode.  If I  wrote down all my thoughts during that instance from when I jumped into the air and landed it would take 10 minutes to write down all the thoughts that raced through my mind.  Your brain is running 1000 mph, and I thought how stupid I was to jump straight up into the air, when I would only land right next to the snake, startle him, and then he would bite me, so I thought the only solution was to come down on the snake with one shoe landing squarely on the snake’s head, and I was able to pull this off.  When I landed on his head his body began to thrash about and then he coiled around my leg.  I calmly pulled out my pocket knife and slid it along the edge of my shoe, severing his head from his body.  This was over about 25 years ago, in 1983 or so.

Still I wouldn’t mind having a couple of snakes.

When I was in college one of my girlfriends gave me a tarantula, a large hairy spider, bigger than my hand.  To feed him I would simply buy little whilte mice and put them in the cage with him and just feed the mice.  Once a week or so I would notice a dead mouse, and then the following day, there would be nothing left of the mouse but a little round ball of fur.  The tarnatula injects a venom into the mouse that disolves all of the mouses innards, including his bones, then comes back to the mouse, fangs into him and sucks out all the goo, leaving only a skin of fur.  We didn’t have webcams that could monitor that stuff back then, but now I do.  It would be interesting to set up a cam and record the snake’s or the spider’s actions of a long period of time, record it all to the hard drive, then later go through the video and just chop out the action sequences.  It would make for some cool blog posts.