It will be the start of the presidential campaign period on Tuesday. But no one will be at the starting line.
But after the Comelec had ruled that all the posters being displayed by the candidates, and all the TV and radio spots that are being broadcast are not a form of premature campaigning, everyone had actually started campaigning already.
This is truly a different time and age. A few elections back, no candidate would dare risk disqualification by putting up a poster of himself along the road. And because no one has been unseated for premature campaigning, it has emboldened everyone else to do it.
It’s not unlike the number of traffic rule violators in Dumaguete. There apparently are more violators than there are enforcers. There are more violations than there are apprehensions made by the ticketing officers. Thus, everyone seems to believe that parking right infront of a ‘No Parking’ sign is a mere suggestion.
A growing number of people who have grown tired of unruly drivers have grouped together on social media to find ways to help solve this problem. Many solutions have been proposed, from vigilante-style law enforcement to the milder method, which is to educate motorists by placing flyers on the windshields of improperly- parked vehicles.
From the discussions on the internet, it sees the mild approach is the preferred approach for residents of this City of Gentle People.
But unless people commit to cooperate, unless drivers would change their ways and abide by traffic rules, this talk of educating our drivers would all be for naught.
Almost everyone in Dumaguete is driving something, if the old report of the LTO still holds true that the average Dumaguete household owns at least two motorcycles.
If you were a licensed driver, what can you actually do today?
There’s a song made popular by Michael Jackson that hits the point: I’m starting with the man in the mirror/I’m asking him to change his ways/And no message could have been any clearer/If you wanna make the world a better place/Take a look at yourself and make a change!
