Fair fare hike?

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The day has finally come when the authorities announced the peso increase to the seven-peso minimum fare. It didn't come as a surprise; the increase is a trend as with other commodities. Starting Wednesday, every Juan and Juana is shelling out a peso more to every short-distance jeepney ride in the whole Philippines!

The increase, the authorities said, is "to help jeepney drivers and operators cope with the rising commosity prices."

My blog post on fare hike ends here because this blog post is purely for information only, and, besides, no negative thoughts can change this news at this point. In a democratic country like ours, acceptance is an admirable trait. So, I'll do just that as I did earlier.

Who is one-peso richer? Who is one-peso poorer?

When I announced in the faculty room of the increase, just a few minutes after http://www.inquirer.net/ had broken the news , one well-off car-owning faculty member said, " Pabayaan n'yo na. Piso lang 'yan."

Something told me she was right, and something told me not to say anything more.

Fear?

Traffic-free Ortigas

A day after a bomb exploded on a bus along EDSA in Buendia, taking the life of five of its passengers, I took a bus ride to Manila. I wasn't hesitant to take the bus because I felt that a bomb explosion taking place a day after a bomb incident was not very likely. It created fear, however. At the bus terminal, I particularly chose to sit in front near the door, thinking  that it was the safest place to be in. My place gave me a better view of the passengers coming in. Staring at people's faces is a rude thing that I do, but this time, doing it was more for vigilance than anything. I looked at their bags, too. I knew I was not being paranoid. Or was I? Fear, as I mentioned, got the better of me. I observed the bus conductor if he was checking not only the tickets but the baggage as well. In brief, I was particularly worried for dear life.

Law-abiding pedestrians

The incident in EDSA was purely evil, a work of terror, and they successfully instilled fear. It might take a few days until this cautious attitude would wear off. No person deserved to live in fear, and no person deserved to die due to a devil's work. I'd like my next bus or jeepney ride to fear-free. Good that I had a good friend sitting and chatting beside me as we traveled the whole stretch of Alabang-Zapote Road to the equally-busy Taft Avenue in Manila.

At Robinson's Manila, the sight of many foreigners, white men mostly, with local ladies was a comforting picture to an already bad image the country had been getting (I am not hinting that sex trade might be our saving grace in luring international tourism, though.).

What transpired at Rob-Manila was the usual Filipino malling experience that included watching a movie, eating some fastfood and doing a lot of window shopping.

I made it safely back home after an hour of FX travel. That was my Happy Teachers' Day Celebration.

On carnapping and car ownership

Ortigas

 News nowadays makes it appear that owning a car in the country holds big risks. The news on carnapping and the killing that goes with it could send shivers to any car owner. In light of the recent crimes involving cars, a cop even suggested not to buy cars. I will be heeding that suggestion for now as financial limitation sounds to be a 'poor' reason for not having one. hehe. But I'll surely get my hands on my own automobile once PCSO has drawn my lucky combination.

As of presstime, the law agency is declaring the recent killing of two car dealers as nearly 'SOLVED.' The heinous act committed onto those two could really make people demand for the death penalty. I won't even think of being thankful for not owning a car, for no person, car-owner or not, not even an animal, should be subjected to any form of monstrosity.

Carnapping has been a lucrative job in the country since the time when demand for cheap cars rose. Everybody wants to have a piece of luxury in a country where luxury is god. Admittedy, I am part of that 'everybody,' and I also share in the rest of the population's interest in cheap cars because no teaching job could ever afford me a brand new one. Like most people, I'll probably settle for a pre-owned car, preferably a car whose owner I know. So, if you are reading this, and you a have car that you want to sell, introduce yourself to me and we will talk in five years, ok?

Kidding aside, anyone can be a victim of crime. There really is no way of saying when tragedy strikes, in the same way with luck. Much as I would like to hit it big with lotto, I know that it will never happen. It starts with betting, you know, which is something I don't do. Vigilance has to start somewhere else, too.



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