City Mayor Co irked over ‘wang-wang’ confiscation

Pagadian City - City Mayor Samuel Co has expressed disgust over the alleged confiscation of the blaring siren of a city government vehicle during a random road inspection and has branded some operatives of the Constabulary Highway Patrol Group (CHPG) as “disrespectful.”

During a recent media conference, Co narrated that the city’s gray Mitsubishi Strada pickup with plate number FGZ 424, driven by Jigger Ordoño, was bound for Ozamiz City when elements of the highway patrol flagged down the vehicle along Tawagan Sur highway, inspected it and confiscated its siren last July 10.

The mayor, who was in Manila during the incident, said he had instructed his driver to remove the gadget days after the “no wang-wang policy” broke out. The driver did not comply.

Mayor Co is contemplating to file charges against the involved patrol officers on grounds of violation of rights.

“You cannot just search any vehicle without a search warrant because that is a violation of human right,” Co claimed, adding that the routine inspection was not even coordinated with his office.

He warned he would “demonstrate his power” by filing charges against those who violated his rights and against those HPG members involved.

At presstime, the patrol group could not be reached for comment. But some quarters believe the officers only did their job.

Meanwhile, the media has repeatedly reported that the ban on using blaring sirens or "wang-wangs" has displeased some other public officials and other VIP’s.

The affected local chief executives claim in unison they should not be totally banned from using sirens to squeeze their way out of heavy traffic. They justified that using blaring sirens to get out of traffic enables them to respond to emergencies as quick as possible.

In his inaugural address, Pres. Noynoy Aquino swore he would not use blaring sirens that are sometimes used by public officials to counterflow traffic. On the other hand, Vice-Pres. Jejomar Binay did not buy the idea. He stressed that the use of siren is necessary to hasten response to emergencies like hostage-taking and shootouts.

However, some quarters opined that what is wrong with sirens is that when they are used just to show off or when the public officials are late on personal appointments.

Presidential Decree No. 96 declares the use or attachment of sirens, bells, horns, whistles or similar gadgets that emit exceptionally loud or startling sounds, including domelights, blinkers and other flashing devices on motor vehicles unlawful.

Under the Decree, which was signed by former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos on January 13, 1973, the gadgets or devices mentioned above may be attached to and use only on motor vehicles designated for official use by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation Commission, Police Departments, Fire Departments and hospital ambulances.

P.D. 96 is silent whether or not to allow vehicles of the President, the Vice-President and the Supreme Court Justice to use the blaring sirens.

The penal clause in P.D. 96 said “Any device or gadget installed or mounted on any motor vehicle or otherwise used in violation of this decree shall be subject to immediate confiscation and, in cases of a second and subsequent offenses, the offender shall be prosecuted for violation of this Decree before the military tribunal and, upon conviction thereof, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment for six months and/or a fine of 600 pesos.”

“In addition, the certificate of registration of the motor vehicle on which the unauthorized gadget or device herein mentioned is installed, mounted or used shall be cancelled or revoked,” the Decree added.

I could have been richer

When my wife asked me how much my net worth was, I could think of any interesting answer. For a moment, I was speechless. I knew I could not explain my financial life; and I often get misunderstood for it.
At first, I thought she was interested of the amount of cash I brought into our marriage, but swiftly, I assumed she was curious about how I mismanaged my money when I was still single. And I was right. She kept on smiling when I relayed details of my previous lifestyle.
On my case, poor spending habits and the lack of drive to earn more could be the foremost reasons why I am not richer today (actually, I am not rich but I should not think I am poor). Despite being educated in financial literacy and being familiar with theories of the rich people, I could not apply the lessons to myself.
Unfortunately, I am not alone. A lot of us still join the rat race of personal finance. We have less financial freedom as we simply depend on passive income, which may not suffice our wants and needs.
Ideally, average earners or employees have only four lessons in personal finance to live by. One cannot proceed to the next principle without internalizing the preceding rule.
First rule is to get out of debt as soon as possible and then to stay out of debt. Less income, schooling children, and high cost of living are unacceptable excuses.
The second rule is to live within your means, that is, income should be higher that expenses. It is accomplished by increasing the income or by cutting off expenses. Either way is plausible.
The third principle is to invest and reinvest the excess funds. Business and investment is the key to financial freedom. Invest only a portion of the whole savings. When things seem to go wrong, one should divert business but should not stop. If you win, you will win big. If you lose, invest elsewhere.
And the last and definitely not the least rule is to be hardworking, patient, and creative. Wait and let the money work for you. Trust the power of money making money for you. The more you have it, the more you are capable of grabbing opportunities. That’s why they say the rich get richer.
If I had only decided years ago to save and to earn more, I would have earned millions by now. But time is still generous. We can never be too late if we act today and we embrace the compelling reasons why we have to earn and improve our respective lives. And whatever we do, it has to be appropriate, decent, and respectable.