ENDEAVOR
Traffic management on EDSA is arguably one of the toughest governance challenges. Last week, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) enforcers apprehended more than 400 motorcycle drivers and drivers of other unauthorized vehicles in the EDSA Busway, issuing citation tickets and fines. There was an unexpected offshoot. A senator’s name was mentioned by among those cited for violation and understandably, he was offended, and demanded rectification.
Recall that the EDSA Busway was established in June 2020 by the Department of Transportation, then headed by Secretary Arthur Tugade, as part of continuing efforts to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila’s busiest major artery. The proponent was a citizen-advocate, Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) Infrastructure Committee Chair Eduardo H. Yap. The MMDA, then headed by retired General Danilo Lim, and the DPWH, set up the basic infrastructure. The median or center lane of EDSA became a dedicated Busway.
By December 2022, the EDSA Busway allowed 550 buses to carry up to 450,000 passengers daily. Previously, more than 3,000 buses clogged EDSA, flaunting the rule on the designated rightmost bus lanes. Clearly, this innovation was a game-changer. It signaled the viability of a complementary mass transport system to the existing elevated LRT 3 mass transit service.
Upon assuming office, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista took steps to upgrade the Busway, heeding the MAP’s call for its privatization. Supported by the PPP Center, a feasibility study is underway, and public bidding is targeted for 2025.
Meanwhile, the MAP has called on government to remain steadfast in promoting the EDSA Busway concept. It opposed the MMDA’s proposal to allow a “convoy of five vehicles of officials” in the Busway. In a statement signed by MAP President Benedicta Du-Báladad and MAP Infrastructure Committee Chair and Busway Advocate Eduardo H.Yap, MAP argued that the proposal must not be enforced as it contradicts globally accepted Busway standards “that account for its efficiency.”
“Accommodating convoys of officials demonstrates inconsistency of public policy,” MAP stated, emphasizing that rather than “favoring the privileged few,” it should focus on making the EDSA Busway more efficient for “the overwhelming majority of commuters and motorists.”
This call becomes even more compelling, as the DOTr has agreed to the MMDA’s proposal to allow the vehicles or convoy accompanying the five highest officials of the land to use the Busway, namely: the President of the Philippines, the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court Chief Justice.
These recent events bring back to our consciousness the declaration made by President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ S. Aquino III during his inauguration at the Luneta on June 30, 2010. Two catchphrases come to mind: “Walang wang wang” and “Kayo ang boss ko.”
He declared: “Kayo ang boss ko, kaya’t hindi maaaring hindi ako makinig sa mga utos ninyo (You are my bosses, and I am sworn to heed what you will ask me to do). We will design and implement an interaction and feedback mechanism that can effectively respond to the people’s needs and aspirations.”
This is a servant-leader’s act of humility in recognizing that the mandate to serve comes from the electorate – an imperative that an elected leader, and those who serve with him or her, could ill afford to ignore.
“Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow” were mentioned after these preceding phrases: “Walang lamangan, walang padrino at walang pagnanakaw.” (No sirens…no taking advantage; no influential sponsors and no stealing).
I recall these principles vividly because I experienced how it is to be under close public scrutiny while serving as Presidential Communications Secretary (or Press Secretary) to President Aquino. Allow me to share a specific incident. Sometime in mid-2012, I accepted an invitation to speak at a Rotary event in San Mateo, Rizal, a few kilometers from the Batasang Pambansa complex. As it was early evening and I had a hectic day at work, I dozed off most of the way until I reached my destination. The next day, my attention was called about a radio news report. A former news reporter of a major broadsheet complained that while driving home in San Mateo, he was told to give way to the “convoy” which conveyed a high government official. When he inquired, he was told it was Secretary Coloma. (The ‘convoy’ consisted only of two vehicles: the car I rode in, and a patrol car of the San Mateo police station. My executive assistant informed me later that she requested the escort because there were reports of NPA members’ presence in the Sierra Madre foothills.)
He complained that he felt “harassed” and “offended,” then inquired, “Akala ko ba ‘walang wang-wang’? Akala ko ba ‘Kayo ang boss ko?” Right there and then, I realized that, two years after his inauguration, people were taking the President’s words seriously, and calling out public officials who, in their view, were not keeping the President’s promise.
I was able to talk with the offended party, who turned out to be someone I knew personally even before I became press secretary. Being a fair-minded person, he accepted my apology.
During my six-year Cabinet stint, I personally witnessed and experienced how “walang wang wang” was dutifully observed by President Aquino and the Presidential Security Group (PSG), and by senior officials, in order to set the example for all others in government service. It required time management discipline. Provide for ample lead time in traveling to fulfill official duties and respect fellow motorists. Difficult, yes; doable, yes, too, with sufficient stores of patience and restraint.
“Walang wang wang” and “Kayo ang boss ko” are timeless principles of governance that never go out of style. These are embedded in the ethic of public service that is enshrined in Article XI, section1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”