Seriously? A honk-free day in the Philippines? We need to get to the bottom of the kind of thinking House Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez (wife of movie idol Richard Gomez) was applying when she came up with House Bill 4542 which, according to this Gulf News report, “aims to bring to the people’s attention the importance of being patient while on the road, while at the same time bring down the ambient noise levels in Philippine roads.”
Torres-Gomez elaborates further…
“Some of them do not realise that their noisy impatience would not improve traffic congestion a whit. Worse, drivers of public utility vehicles actually impede the smooth flow of traffic by stopping at certain road points longer than allowed by the rules and honking their horns continuously in order to attract passengers,” she stressed.
She also proposes that Sunday be the ideal day to impose the honking ban “considering solemn religious activities are celebrated during this day”.
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Efforts to legislate good manners in the Philippines have met limited success so far.
That sounds like a good idea. Perhaps we should also institute hefty fines for a bunch of other instances of bad breeding Filipinos routinely exhibit on Sundays, including loud karaoke singing in the wee hours of the night, pissing on public walls, horking loudly and spitting juicily, staring, building houses on property without first obtaining the owner’s permission, walking around with shirts raised and beer bellies exposed, wearing tacky clothes, smiling inappropriately during solemn occassions, sporting tacky combinations of expensive branded clothes, not returning phone calls, not responding to emails, chewing with their mouth open, talking with their mouth full, loud lip smacking while eating, getting too much food at buffets and failing to finish it all, queue jumping of all types, texting while being spoken to, texting while walking in the mall, asking people when they will get married, asking married couples when they will have a child, having 4-hour conversations on the topic of money, and cooking tuyo or burong talangka in high-rise apartment buildings among others (we are open to suggestions).
And as a grand finale for our proposed long-overdue Comprehensive Anti Bad Manners bill, let’s finish with a stipulation prescribing severe prison time for loud talking in movies, loud talking in church, and (hey, why not?) loud talking in general. Also, why limit a ban on bad manners to just Sundays? Why not make the new law a 24/7 ban on bad manners instead? Perhaps in this way, exhibiting good manners may someday become instituted as a routine way of life in the Philippines. Indeed, baby steps are needed to solve this monster of an instractable Filipino social problem, but a boost from a big-time celebrity solon always helps!
We’re all behind you Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez! It’s time Filipinos are taught manners, even if we have to begin with just being good well-bred citizens only on Sundays. It’s a good start!
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
In politics, stupidity is obviously not a handicap. Sometimes it is so hard to believe that I think people are making this stuff up.
How about a law that stipulates that Lucy Torres has to keep her stupid pie hole shut from Monday to Friday. So she won’t be able say something demented and drastically cut down on the stupid juice from Richard Gomez’s wiener.
Another attempt at legislated social engineering. And we pay these airheads to indulge in this buffoonery.
How about a shoplifting law, Mrs. Gomez?
The woman is married to a man who is in my opinion the living embodiment of all that is wrong with this country. Not sure why she is any position to recommend what is what.
Her authority comes from the same people who elected your favourite Aquino to the presidency.
If she really wanted to address use of horns then she should have just passed a bill limiting the output of horns to certain number of decibels. Also in connection with noise from motor vehicles, limit also exhaust noise, especially applicable to small motorbikes, scooters and underboners, jeepneys and tricycles, and make the modification of exhausts from factory pass some sort of standards. But then again I would think these are already in place with the LTO, it is just the implementation that is lacking. That is what she should have addressed. It would have made more sense.
While at it, she should have also made illegal all headlight modification from factory specs or at least have some sort of standard with regards to the brightness, and focus of vehicle headlights. Include also the idiotic ways that pinoys change the color of their tail / brake lamps, corner lights to other colors.
Then at least we can say, she is not all looks but rather somebody who deserves to be elected as a lawmaker.
This bill she passed actually looks like a fifth grade project which was not thought through. “Basta lang may maipasa.” This is where your taxes go!, proudly Philippines!!!!
All the things you mentioned are already, as you also said, covered by some law.
But no one implements the law, because no one who is in a position to do so actually knows these laws. They have no bloody idea. Otherwise they would apprehend all those vehicles. If I was to write tickets I’d run out of paper in 20 minutes.
maganda lang, tapos
In Dasmarinas, Cavite, the noisiest activities are done by religious groups, be it the catholic church that rings it bells at 4:00 AM, while the nearby mosque follows after an hour. Add those of born again christian worship houses whose live bands rock and roll the neighborhood from Saturday morning until past Sunday midnight. Solemn your azz lucy torres! And we all wonder why lawmakers are clueless in reality. Ban these chuches from making loud noises first!