Useless politicians
It is sad to note that even at this time of crisis, there are still politicians who take advantage of the situation to earn "pogi" points and worst to retaliate on their political enemies. Take for instance the distribution of rice intended for typhoon victims. There are reports that some towns, especially those whose mayors don't belong to the governor's political camp, did not receive their share. Similar scenario also happens in the city as a number of typhoon victims were heard complaining that they have not received relief assistance since they did not support their punong barangay in the last election. Worst of all is the report (which we hope is not true) that a certain public official in the city has been diverting truckloads of rice intended for provincial beneficiaries to his constituents in the city. How terrible! A lot of typhoon affected families in the municipalities are suffering and yet these officials still have the gall to do such irregularities. Makasuluka!
Opportunistic taxi drivers
There is an apparent shortage of taxi units plying the roads of the city. This is because a lot of taxi units that were submerged by the flood brought by typhoon Frank last week are still grounded—either they were not yet cleaned up or their engines have been destroyed. With this, there are taxi drivers who take advantage of the situation—they choose which passenger to take while others don't use their taxi meters. We are thus calling on passengers victimized by these opportunistic taxi drivers to get the name and body number of the taxi unit, its plate number, and if possible the driver's name and immediately report to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office in Tabuc Suba, Jaro. We urge LTFRB regional director Porfirio Clavel to take extreme penalties against these opportunistic taxi drivers. Mga kabalan!
MMDA operation
No less than Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando supervised the clearing up of the mud left by last week's flood in certain parts of the city particularly in Lopez Jaena St., Jaro. While at it, chairman Fernando noticed a lot of obstructions along the road which he attempted to remove by instructing his men. As expected, owners of said obstructions protested so the MMDA personnel have no choice but leave them untouched. At least, chairman Fernando saw for himself how rampant are road obstructions in the city.