A Critique of the Iloilo City Boundary Ordinance

I started writing this article more than a year ago after the implementation of the Iloilo City Boundary Ordinance. I didn't care finishing it until a few days ago because, while I was almost done writing this, I thought the ordinance was going to be re-evaluated. There were, at some time, rumors that more car passes will be issued to provincial jeepneys going to Iloilo City. But until now, there hasn't been any addition to 4 car passes issued to ALIJODA, the drivers association in Alimodian. This really causes us, Alimodian passengers, a lot of trouble. This is the reason why I had to finish this. And now I'm posting it. Your comments are most welcome.

0.0 I abhor the Iloilo City Boundary Ordinance. I abhor the city officials who passed this ordinance without fully studying its implications. And, most of all, I abhor the stupid, pretentious politicians who make their this-is-all-done-for-the-benefit-of-the-people-of-Iloilo speeches (of course always in front of media camera) to justify the implementation of this ordinance despite protestations, especially of peoples from the province of Iloilo. And that includes me. That’s why I abhor the Iloilo City Boundary Ordinance.

1.0 I am from Alimodian, a small hilly rural town 25 kilometers away from the city of Iloilo. For those who are not familiar with our town, Alimodian is located somewhere in the inner southern parts of Iloilo province, somewhere near Leon, San Miguel, and Maasin. It is where the Agony Hills is located – which is where those who don’t go to Balaan Bukid in Guimaras on Holy Fridays choose to go – as well as where many of the sand/mountains/rivers/earth quarries that build the malls and subdivisions in Iloilo (and God-knows-where-else) come from, but these are all beside the point.

When I was little, I was taught by my parents to say I’m from “Brgy. Binalud, Alimodian, Iloilo” should I get lost. My parents taught me early that knowing – memorizing to one’s heart – one’s home address is as important as knowing one’s name or one’s parents’ names. Later on, since we always moved to a different house, the address became “Cañonero Street, Alimodian, Iloilo”, and much later, “Maximo Street, Alimodian, Iloilo”, and still much later, “San Rufino Street, Alimodian, Iloilo”. Despite the changes in the streets, the pairing of Alimodian and Iloilo always remained. This led my mind to automatically, unconsciously pair Alimodian with Iloilo (i.e., Alimodian-comma-Iloilo), just like how I always (a little embarrassedly) automatically sing “D-E-F-G” when I hear the letters “A-B-C”.

So it was impressed upon me that Alimodian is part of Iloilo. The last time I checked, this thing was still true: Alimodian is still part of Iloilo – unless the president has, at 4:00 o’clock this morning, issued a decree ordering otherwise. But I don’t think she has done that. Damn if she ever will. And so it remains: Alimodian is part of Iloilo – a fact that isn’t so difficult to understand. So until today, whenever there are forms for me to fill up, I put in the address line “San Rufino Street” for my street address, “Alimodian” for my town, and “Iloilo” for my province. During introductions, I also identify myself as an Ilonggo, at the same time an Alimodiananon. But I know this idea surprises no one because, aside from Alimodian, 41 other towns are also part of Iloilo [1]. I’m sure the peoples from these towns also identify themselves like the way I do: “Miagaoanon, Ilonggo. Taga-Miagao, Iloilo”; “Barotacnon, Ilonggo. Taga-Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo”; “Igbarasnon, Ilonggo. Taga-Igbaras, Iloilo”; and so on, and so forth.

For the benefit of and as a reminder to Iloilo City politicians, I am including the list of towns (and city) that are part of Iloilo province. [1]

1. Ajuy, Iloilo
2. Alimodian, Iloilo
3. Anilao, Iloilo
4. Badiangan, Iloilo
5. Balasan, Iloilo
6. Banate, Iloilo
7. Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo
8. Barotac Viejo, Iloilo
9. Batad, Iloilo
10. Bingawan, Iloilo
11. Cabatuan, Iloilo
12. Calinog, Iloilo
13. Carles, Iloilo
14. Concepcion, Iloilo
15. Dingle, Iloilo
16. Dueñas, Iloilo
17. Dumangas, Iloilo
18. Estancia, Iloilo
19. Guimbal, Iloilo
20. Igbaras, Iloilo
21. Janiuay, Iloilo
22. Lambunao, Iloilo
23. Leganes, Iloilo
24. Lemery, Iloilo
25. Leon, Iloilo
26. Maasin, Iloilo
27. Miagao, Iloilo
28. Mina, Iloilo
29. New Lucena, Iloilo
30. Oton, Iloilo
31. Passi City, Iloilo
32. Pavia, Iloilo
33. Pototan, Iloilo
34. San Dionisio, Iloilo
35. San Enrique, Iloilo
36. San Joaquin, Iloilo
37. San Miguel, Iloilo
38. San Rafael, Iloilo
39. Santa Barbara, Iloilo
40. Sara, Iloilo
41. Tigbauan, Iloilo
42. Tubungan, Iloilo
43. Zarraga, Iloilo

But I am saying a lot of things that make me go astray the point, so let me just regain myself and go on to the next part.

2.0 I was 13 when I first studied here in Iloilo. I am saying here, referring to Iloilo City, because I am at the Human Resource Office of the University of Iloilo as I am writing this piece. I work here in the city. I am an Alimodiananon – a provincial boy – working in the city. There must be hundreds, thousands of us, peoples from the province, who travel from provincial towns to the city everyday. But as I was saying, and I will return to it now, I was 13 when I first studied here in the city.

That was 12 years ago.

I took my high school at the University of the Philippines High School in Iloilo. From 1995 to 1999, I traveled almost everyday from Alimodian to the city to, of course, take my studies. It was between those years during which the roads from our town to the city have all been concreted. From Alimodian, the jeep would pass by San Miguel, Pavia, and Mandurriao before it reached the city. Oh, yes, I know: Mandurriao is part of the city, and it already was when I was in high school. But you see, one still had to reach Jaro back then before he/she felt that he/she was already in the city. In 1995, all one could see along Diversion Road (now Benigno Aquino Highway) was nothing but grasses and marshes and some birds and a few carabaos grazing. Back then, the thing that would come to mind when “SM” was mentioned was this shoebox-shaped mall along Delgado Street in Iloilo City.

From 1995 to 1999, I remember leaving our house at 5:30 in the morning everyday. No wonder I never became late in any of my subjects (which started at 7:30 am) back then. I miss those never-late days.

Before all the roads have all been concreted, I remember how we, passengers, would never forget to bring our turban and panyo (I always bring one until now) – or try not to sleep in the jeep until we passed by Gorriceta Rice Mill – because of the clouds of dust (make that mushrooms of dust) that swirled about us as our jeep zoomed past the dirt-road just after San Miguel public market. These dirt roads were concreted in, I think, 1997. It gave relief to the people who traveled to and from the city everyday. It made the travel not only comfortable and safe and “powder-free” but also fast. Lesser time spent on the road meant (and still means) more time spent on more productive things. But do I really need to say this? So the community – the people – benefit from concrete (concretized, anyone?) roads.

So just who are these people who benefited (and continue to benefit) from the improvement of roads from provincial towns to the city? Everyone who use/d the road, of course. Stupid question. But I’d like to bring this stupidity further by stating who this “everyone” is: drivers and passengers. And “passengers” means students, workers, merchants, some doctors, some teachers, and, perhaps, some politicians in the making.

But it is not only the concretization of roads that help people cut the time they spend on the road. It’s not only dirt-roads that cause travel delays anyway, so let’s go and take that up in the next part.

3.0 Transportation is the movement of people and their goods from one location to another. [2] A nation’s or community’s economic success banks heavily on efficient methods of transportation as transportation provides people access to different resources. Transportation also promotes trade among peoples, communities, and nations thus allowing the exchange or accumulation of wealth and power.

Evidently, people today rely heavily on mechanical (i.e., non-human powered) forms of transportation to move from one place to another. Unless one dreams of setting a Guinness Record for longest distance traveled by foot (e.g., North to South Pole), one would most likely travel by mechanical means. A Revo, a Honda, a Ceres Liner, a 56 Liner, an RF Motors, or a Pasajero Sosyal always comes in – well – handy.

What are the requisites to an effective, efficient non-human powered transport system? I do not know. Well, not scientifically. But as far as my Ilonggo experience tells me, these are (what I consider) the requisites to an efficient (i.e., safe, time-saving, resource-saving, effort-saving, and comfortable) transportation system:

1. Wide, concrete roads;
2. Fast but safety-conscious drivers;
3. A proportionate road width to the number of cars; and
4. A functional traffic system.

These requisites to an efficient transportation system aren’t many, and many may accuse me of putting things to simplistically. So, in order to justify this list of five, let me explain each more fully.

3.1 Wide, concrete roads are requisite to an efficient transport system.

Wide, concrete roads always work to the advantage of road users. This is regardless of whether it is from the perspective of passengers, drivers, or politicians. I say always because I am not aware of any disadvantage wide, concrete roads can bring to either to humans, humanoids, human-driven jeepneys, politician-driven cars, or token-driven robot politicians. Even goats and chickens tied to the side of the jeep will certainly prefer concrete roads over dusty, rough, bumpy roads.

One road rule I know is: The lesser potholes there are on the road, the better it is for travelers. This, sometimes, is without thanks from people who enjoy good roads. But hey, who said that people do not know how to appreciate good roads from bad ones? It’s just that there are few good roads to be thankful for when you’re here in Iloilo.

Wide, concrete roads are time-saving. The finer the road, the faster the jeep or car can run. It’s not that I dig jeeps that run 220 km/hour. It’s just that the driver has lesser potholes to avoid (a futile attempt) every time he drives. And when Manong Driver has lesser potholes to avoid, the faster I get to my destination.

Wide, concrete roads are also safer than rough, pothole-filled roads. Or to be much more convincing, let me put it this way: rough roads are dangerous to your health. (Why hasn’t the DOH launched a campaign on that?) Why dangerous? Just try to pass by San Miguel poblacion and bring your asthmatic, arthritic grandmother with you. If she doesn’t soon join the angels from up high, then I’m sure she’ll complain of backaches and a bump on the head immediately after the ride.

Wide, concrete roads are resource and effort savers. It’s really the drivers who know the most obvious meaning of this. Wide concrete roads are resource savers because they can help the driver save some gasoline. The lesser the potholes there are on the road, the fewer the times the driver has to shift the engine to a lower gear. Ergo, savings.

Wide, concrete roads are also comfortable. They make you feel as if you’re just flying on the road, not as if you were falling off a cliff or, worse, as if you’re being whirled and twirled inside a giant washing machine.

3.2 Fast but safety-conscious drivers are requisite to an efficient transport system.

I hate it when drivers pick passengers as if they were looking for mites and mite eggs on the head of their wife. All the nooks and corners of streets and alleys mean nothing to this kind of drivers but a place for waiting for passengers and loading of passengers. And still more waiting for passengers, and more loading of passengers.

What I’m trying to say here is that by fast I mean time-saving. In mathematical equations, fast equals less time spent on the road. It’s not about the drivers vroom-vrooming their way past the blindest curves in the narrowest of streets in Iloilo. It’s about – shall I say it again? – time.

Many of our drivers here (and I am saying many, not all) ought to undergo a seminar on respect for passengers. Many drivers act as if they own their passengers’ time. They don’t care if they spend 30 minutes to get from Mandurriao Plaza to San Agustin even if this trip can actually be taken in 20 minutes. Or less.

It’s not that I don’t know how to sympathize with drivers. I know they’re just doing their job. But please, for goodness sake, the job is transportation provision, not some try-your-butts-on-fancy-seats racket. Some drivers seem to be happy about that: once passengers have climbed the jeep and given their fares, all’s well and done. Wait until others are in.

So let me state that again: Providing transportation to passengers is the driver’s job. Passengers pay to be transported efficiently (i.e., safely and timely) from point A to point B, not to bury their butts on the some wet cushioned jeepney chairs. And if the driver should reason his heart away, let us all answer him by saying that it is not only he who is working to get decent family meals. So are we, passengers. So play it fair.

3.3 A proportionate number of cars to the width of the road is requisite to an efficient transport system.

One of the things I learned by watching pirated DVDs is that it’s possible to put a skinned, hardboiled egg inside a bottle, the opening of which is smaller than the size of the egg [3]. But cars and jeeps and buses are NOT eggs that can squeeze their ways into bottleneck-shaped or as-narrow-as-Grade-1-rulers roads. There are way too many cars and vans and jeeps and trucks and police scooters and tricycle and trisikads that the streets in Iloilo can handle. And oh, I almost forgot the traffic auxiliary guys who, instead of facilitating the flow of traffic in the city, seem to be doing nothing really but appear as trophies. They’re there just to give the impression that a traffic system is in place in Iloilo. But fool me, guys. I know there’s none.

But why am I already talking about traffic system when this part is supposed to be on road width-to-car proportion? It’s because this proportion thingy is affected not only by rules of economics (i.e., the more Ilonggos can afford to buy cars, the more cars there will be in Iloilo City; the cheaper cars will be sold in markets, the more Ilonggos can afford to buy cars; etc.) but also by the traffic system. So why don’t I just proceed to discuss the meatiest part of this matter?

3.4 An operational traffic system is requisite to an efficient transport system.

Encarta gives fifteen definitions of the word system. For the purpose of our discussion, I will give only three.

System means a way of proceeding: a method or set of procedures for achieving something. It also means orderliness: the use or result of careful planning and organization. Lastly, specifically referring to transportation system, system means a transport network: a physical network of roads, railways, and other routes for travel, transport, or communication. [4]

Efficient, on the other hand, means acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort. [5] Well, this word was actually defined earlier. But repetition always helps emphasizing some points. So there you go, everyone. That’s efficient for you.

Transportation was also defined somewhere earlier, so what remains to be defined is operational. But let’s skip that word for now. What better needs to be understood is that system, in the context of our discussion, refers to a transport system. Building upon the definitions already given, the transport system in Iloilo should then include the drivers, the passengers, conductors, the cars, the cabs, the trucks, buses, jeepneys, and the roads and the bridges and the economic areas here in Iloilo. These are the tangible things that are supposed to be part of the system. But this list isn’t complete. Let me surprise you a bit by adding the following items: traffic lights, traffic police, and the traffic auxiliary men. And overpasses, and flyovers, and road signage, and yellow lanes, and drainages and flood systems. Oh yes, everyone. These things do (or are supposed to) exist, and they’re (supposed to be) there to serve a purpose.

Anyway, to continue: The intangible parts, on the other hand, are the traffic rules and regulations, the traffic routes, and the driver and passenger discipline. Time, weather, and economy may also be included. But since these are quite difficult to explain, it will be best for me not to deal with them here.

Having enumerated the tangible and intangible parts, let me explain the things that I think need some explanation.

First of all is the supposed wholeness of this transport system: that leaving the tangible things to themselves will never lead to a system, just as that the intangible things would be useless if they have no tangible things to govern. So I could say that again as the whole is more than just the sum of its parts.

Second – still very much related to the first – is that each of the component parts must be carefully considered so as to weave an organized, seamless whole.

Think of these questions for example:

■ What is the current ratio of public utility vehicles (plying different routes in Iloilo) to the number of passengers?
■ How many units of jeepneys are there that take the Jaro CPU route? the Jaro Liko route? the Leganes route? the SM Mandurriao route? the La Paz route? etc., etc.
■ What is the ideal number of vehicles per route so that there are enough (not so much more) vehicles to transport passengers that need their service?
■ Should as many as 1,000 units of Jaro CPU jeepneys be allowed to ply the route all at the same time?
■ How many vehicles are there, both public and private, as well as within-city route and provincial jeepneys, that ply the city everyday?
■ Should provincial jeepneys be given only four passes?
■ Does the four-passes-only-for-provincial-jeepneys solve the traffic problem of Iloilo City?
■ Could limiting the number of within-city route public utility vehicles solve the traffic problem of Iloilo City?
■ Could limiting the number of private cars that ply the city solve the traffic problem of Iloilo City?
■ Should provincial passengers pay more to get to their city-destinations just in order that the traffic conditions in the city be better?

The more interesting questions which politicians and the people should also ask are:

■ What are the rules governing the use of passenger terminals?
■ Is it true that there are some terminals where jeepneys do not really park their vehicles but are still charged despite the ticket saying that they paid a “parking fee”?
■ Could some politicians be benefiting from these schemes?

Another set of questions I feel like sharing with you as well are the following:

■ Is there a schedule when traffic lights are functional?
■ Why do loading/unloading areas change almost every week?
■ Why don’t the police/traffic auxiliary men ticket private cars parked on yellow lanes?
■ Do traffic auxiliary men ticket public transportation drivers according to rules or according to whim?
■ Why don’t the traffic auxiliary men instruct the drivers to park their jeep properly before issuing them a ticket?
■ Why are some SUVs allowed to pick passengers at the Iloilo Airport when the LTFRB claims that the “No Car Plate, No Travel Policy” is in force?
■ Why are there still a lot of trucks and jeepneys that emit jet-black smoke despite the required emission testing prior to issuance of vehicle license?
■ Why do politicians continue putting up overpasses when several overpasses in the city are actually never used by people?
■ Are overpasses political ad boards?
■ Does Raul Gonzales own all the overpasses in Iloilo that all the overpasses bear his name?
■ Has the Gen. Luna flyover really lessened the traffic condition in the city as it was claimed to do?
■ Who gets to decide whether to put up flyovers and overpasses in the city?
■ Can “usefulness” of flyovers and overpasses be legislated?
■ Should merchants reconsider selling their products in the city and station their products in provincial towns instead so that it will be businesses in the city that should suffer next time?
■ Who is this city politician who owns units that ply the Jaro-Mandurriao route, which is probably what really prompted this politician to make an argument with the LTFRB?
■ Do police escorts lessen the feel of bumps on the road such that politicians in escorted cars do not see the need to repair bumpy roads?

I know I have raised more questions that I am able to answer. (I'm pretty sure these questions are a pain in the ass should they reach the politicians concerned). And the list is already very, very long, so that makes me guess that I should already stop. Anyway, I left the word operational undefined earlier, so let me take it up before I proceed to the next part. Operational, of course, is an easy word. It means something that’s in use, in operation, in order, working, active, in force, in effect, functioning, or operating [6]. What I just would like to emphasize is that even if politicians insist that there is a transport system in Iloilo, it is only because there are vehicles, drivers, and passengers on the roads around. In the absence of well-planned traffic rules and regulations, everything will fall into chaos – as it currently is. Oh, well.

There are traffic and road rules and regulations, alright. But who knows about them? Who implements them? And when? Are roads like offices where traffic rules only apply from 8:00 to 5:00, from Monday to Friday?

It is important that discipline is included as part of the transportation system: discipline of drivers, passengers, as well as law enforcers, and law formulators. Yes, this place needs discipline. And discipline can be taught to Ilonggos if traffic rules and regulations are right in place. But how do people acquire discipline if they are not made aware of rules and regulations?

Ignorance of the law, they say, is not an excuse. So more than just blaming drivers and passengers who are ignorant of the law, blame should be put on the politicians who keep rules and regulations to themselves until these can be used as part of their election propaganda, or until these can be used against their rivals.

4.0 So this leads me to ending what I began writing about here: my contempt of the Iloilo City Boundary Ordinance. I hate it with a passion because, as someone from the province, I feel like I'm an alien who is punished for not being a native of Iloilo City. Why do I have to suffer a lot more transportation problems than the natives of Iloilo City? I mean, why do we, peoples of the 43 towns of Iloilo have to suffer? (Am I crying racism or discrimination? For heaven's sake, maybe I am!)

I have more reasons, of course, and if you have gone reading this far, then you have already read them above, so please add some more when you make your comments.

May the lords of the Iloilo City Government give us a favor and re-evaluate the effectiveness of their ordinance.

Amen.

Blog Update

If there is anyone who reads this blog, then this one's for that reader.

I'm writing again. No, not the poetry or the creativenonfictioney type of writing but the bloggy type. You know. The e-journal type. The e-diary type. You know.

But I'll try not to write crap, of course. There's too much of that in the world already, and I don't want to add to that.

Anyway, I'm back in the University of Iloilo. The past many months, I've been doing a lot of different rackets: teaching here, doing research there, doing tutorials here, etc., etc. In the first semester of AY 2008 I was substitute faculty at the Division of Humanities, UP Visayas in Miagao. I got good feedback from my students (they gave me a good rating in their evaluation, and I believe some of them miss me, hehe) but I was not rehired in the 2nd semester. It didn't feel that bad (meaning it was but only a tiny bit) since there were two of us faculty members who "suffered that fate". Well, I didn't really suffer. It's just the idiomatic expression. But the experience proved to me that there is truth to the saying that misery loves company. That's life.

Thankfully, I got a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for the project "Glosari sa Kinaray-a", and I was given Saturday classes at UI, so the 2nd semester wasn't that unlucky for me.

And now, I said I'm fully back in UI. Not anymore as a faculty member, but as a part of the Marketing Team. The University of Iloilo is not anymore owned by the Lopezes. It was bought by PHINMA Inc., and I have high hopes for the renaissance of the university. I'm saying "renaissance" because, quite unknown to many, University of Iloilo had silent times of being one of the top schools in Western Visayas. With us on board, and more especially with a management that listens to its stakeholders, we will do our best to make UI at par with the best schools in Iloilo. And who knows, maybe even the whole Philippines.