Kung unsa’y kalipay sa tawo, kalipay usab kana sa Dios
. (Whatever pleases man, pleases God).This was the reasoning of a local politician who was justifying the holding of illegal cockfights called tigbakay many elections ago. This statement apparently was a spin on the maxim Vox Populi Vox Dei (The voice of the people is the voice of God.)
One may or may not agree on the theological belief of the politician, but for many of our elected officials, the will of the people is their only guide. Kung saan ka masaya, ti, suportahan taka (I will support you in whatever makes you happy), said a 2001 advertisement for a telephone company.
In a Province which has perhaps the most number of motorcycles per capita, this is apparently the same mindset of elected officials with regard to the helmet issue: If voters don’t want to use helmets, then that will be the law.
The helmet law was passed in order to protect motorists. Head injuries from accidents of helmet-less motorcyclists claim many lives every year. If these motorists eventually don’t get killed, they may end up in the Intensive Care Unit, and relatives who are burdened by the cost of hospitalization ask for financial assistance from the same government which bended the law requiring the use of helmets.
So who is kidding whom?
If elected officials decide solely on the basis of what is popular, what’s to stop the public from non-payment of taxes? What’s to stop the public from following traffic laws?
The challenge is not to look for exceptions to the rule, but to implement the law without fear or favor.
Leaders, after all, are supposed to do the right thing — they lead, not follow.
