The City of Manila’s decision to regulate the operations of pedicabs, tricycles and kuliglig is long overdue. Although these modes of transport may be convenient for some, they contribute to traffic congestion and can cause major traffic accidents.
Manila and other local governments should not just keep them off major roads, but most of all require them to strictly follow traffic rules. Franchises do not just give them rights but, equally important, responsibilities. They should be revoked for violation of traffic rules.
Many pedicab/tricycle drivers seem to think that because their vehicles are small, they can blatantly ignore rules—going against traffic on one-way streets, squeezing between cars, even trucks, and making turns whenever they feel like it—putting their passengers’ and their own lives at risk.
And they do it so aggressively, expecting everyone to get out of their way. Other motorists who assert their own right to use the road do so at their own peril. One motorist found his car badly scratched by a tricycle whose driver felt he should have been allowed free passage and given priority, although all other vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam.
Tricycles and pedicabs usually do not have signaling gadgets that cars, buses and trucks are equipped with, but their drivers turn every which way, leaving other motorists with the responsibility of making sure accidents are avoided.
Many do not even have lights for navigating city streets at night. But that does not deter drivers from operating their vehicles in the dark. (Incidentally, many jeepneys are also on the road at night without lights on.)
About time
Finally, Globe Telecom is cracking down on text spams, those annoying messages offering all sorts of products and services, from loans to real estate.
Globe asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to order Caritas Shield Inc. to pay “appropriate fines and penalties for sending text spam” to its subscribers.” It also asked NTC “to permanently bar Caritas, its agents and employees from sending these spam texts to Globe customers.”
Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said complaints would be filed against other companies using the same marketing strategies.
In asking NTC for a cease and desist order against the pre-need company, Globe said the prepaid subscriber “violated the terms and conditions specified in the User’s Guide set by the telecommunication company for its prepaid SIMs (subscriber information modules).”
Globe said the user’s guide stipulated that subscribers should “not use the prepaid service, handset, SIM cards, call and text card for any fraudulent or abusive purpose.”
Subscribers can report text spams through Talk2Globe Chat (https://chat.globe.com.ph), send a message through Globe Contact Form (https://globe.com.ph/ talk2Globenow) or by tweeting @Talk2GLOBE on Twitter. They should include the number, exact message, and time and date of the text spam.
Customers can also block spams through their own devices. iOS users can open the message, click the Contact button at the right hand corner, and click on the “i” next to the number they wish to block. They can then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the option “Block this caller.”
Android users can use their gadget’s filtering settings: Go to Settings, press the Spam Message Settings, click “Add to Spam Numbers” and add spammers’ numbers. They may also input commonly used spam phrases and add them to the “Add to Spam Phrases” list.
Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph