A day before the arrival of Pope Francis in the Philippines, overzealous government officials led by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Chairman Francis Tolentino of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) allowed a surprise dry-run of vehicular traffic restrictions in the Port Area, Intramuros, and Ermita districts of Manila purportedly in preparation for the papal mass at the Quirino Grandstand on January 18. The dry-run meant the re-routing of traffic in the busiest streets near the Luneta. Since the dry-run was not announced in advance, tens of thousands of motorists and commuters were stranded needlessly, not only in those districts of Manila, but in neighboring areas as well.
The traffic nightmare could have been avoided if Roxas and Tolentino informed motorists and commuters beforehand. Their failure to do so showed that they are incompetent, inconsiderate, and discourteous to the public they serve.
It also means that those expensive electronic billboards of Tolentino’s MMDA all over EDSA and major roadways are inutile for information dissemination, similar to those useless adult diapers Tolentino bought with public funds for use by traffic policemen during the Black Nazarene procession in Manila last January 9. Tolentino wasted an estimated P120,000.00 of public money on those adult diapers.
During the 2014 Metropolitan Manila Film Festival, every cinema theater exhibited a short film about Tolentino before each main feature. The film was obviously designed to promote Tolentino’s political image as seen in the array of costumes Tolentino wore. Tolentino had time for that short film but none to inform motorists and commuters about the dry-run. Where are his priorities?
Why the MMDA, which is supposed to manage traffic in the metropolis, is even authorized to run the annual film festival suggests an anomaly. Even on the assumption that there is a law empowering the MMDA to manage the film festival, that law must be re-examined. Maybe there is no law at all, and all the MMDA relies on is a mere administrative order or proclamation. This matter must be investigated by public interest advocates immediately.
As if the traffic nightmare caused by the dry-run were not bad enough, Roxas created another problem. On the first day of the papal visit, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered telecommunication companies to block cellular telephone signals in areas where Pope Francis was present, and where his motorcade was to pass. The next day, Roxas defended this measure as a means to protect the Pope from any bombs triggered by cellular telephones. Whether or not cellular telephone signals were to be blocked anew for the rest of the papal visit was a question Roxas did not answer.
The NTC directive created a communications nightmare for the print and broadcast journalists covering the arrival of Pope Francis at the Villamor Air Base. They were unable to make calls or send text messages during the crucial moments of the Pope’s arrival. The next day, reporters covering the papal motorcade bound for Malacañang were unable to use their cell phones again.
It was later discovered that the interference also affected nearby areas where the Pope was not present or which he was not expected to visit. Citizens in these areas complained. One can just imagine the dilemma of people who had to make or take emergency phone calls in areas where the cell phone signals were blocked indiscriminately and unnecessarily.
Although many netizens expressed their displeasure at the social media, Roxas remained unmoved. Why should he? Roxas, like Tolentino and other top officials of the Aquino administration, can move around the busy metropolis using a fleet of luxury vehicles equipped with rooftop flashers, and with accompanying motorcycled cops clearing the roads for them. While the wang-wang or sirens remain prohibited, wily government officials have resorted to these silent but equally offensive flashers.
The same wily officials had special access to Pope Francis during his visit to Malacañang. Unlike these officials, ordinary Filipinos, who happen to be President Aquino’s bosses, can only get a brief glimpse of the Pope at the public places he visited and along the roads he traversed—if they are lucky enough to do so. As an infamous politician once said, “What are we in power for?”
Was the NTC directive lawful? Section 17, Article XII of the Constitution allows the State to temporarily direct the operations of a public utility like a mobile telephone service provider, but that power may be exercised only during a national emergency. A papal visit does not qualify as a national emergency—unless the devil is in charge of our government.
The telecommunication companies concerned explained that the NTC directive was issued “in the interest of public safety,” a reference to the police power, i.e., the power of the State to curtail certain rights in the interest of public welfare. This excuse suggests that the security provisions for the papal visit were insufficient. It is a suggestion belied by the fact that the security arrangements around the Pope, and in the places where he was to stay, were so strict that it was virtually impossible for anybody to sneak a bomb near the Pope and detonate it using a cell phone. Evidently, the NTC directive unnecessarily violated the rights of people. As the law books put it, it is like burning the barn just to roast the pig.
Even on the assumption that the NTC directive was necessary for the safety of the Pope, Roxas should have at least advised the public in advance about the temporary restraint on their right to use their cell phones. That advisory would have also deterred terrorists from attempting to use bombs triggered by mobile phones. Had there been an advisory, the aforesaid unpleasant consequences could have been reduced, if not eliminated.
Roxas is not yet president and he is already resorting to measures that unnecessarily curtail the rights of citizens. One can imagine the extent of what he would do if he is president.