STRAIGHT FROM THE BIG CITY

Ike Señeres
Thief masquerading as a tollway teller

MANILA -- Attention PEA Tollway Corporation President Carlos P. Doble: There is a thief among you who is masquerading as a teller. Last Tuesday, I was in a taxi on the way to Las Piñas and I passed through the R-1 toll plaza. I gave 1, 002 pesos to the driver to give to the teller.

The teller gave us change of 480 pesos, lacking 500 pesos (the toll was 22 pesos). We had to back up to claim the 500 pesos and the teller even questioned the taxi driver whether he was really sure that my money was 1, 002 pesos. I doubt very much whether it was an honest mistake.

I think that teller gets away with this racket every now and then, taking advantage of customers who are too much in a hurry to go. Mr. Doble, you can trace this teller through OR S048-169986. It happened 10:29 PM. I am keeping the ticket in case you will need it to investigate.

Perhaps it is only here in the Philippines that toll rates appreciate, instead of depreciating. That dishonest teller might have her own little act of robbery, but this continuing appreciation of PEA toll rates looks like a form of long term and big time robbery, and a highway robbery at that! I understand that the toll way Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract has an escalation clause, but how did the contractor ever get away with that?

And did the Public Estates Authority (PEA) change its name to Public Reclamation Authority (PRA)? When did that happen? Was this announced to the public? If so, shouldn’t the name of the toll way be changed now to PRA Tollway Authority? Doesn’t the PRA acronym now make it confusing with the Philippine Retirement Authority? Can we hear from PEA or PRA Chairman Ramon Revilla Sr?

Do local sanitation officials inspect only restaurants and not rooms for rent? I had the chance to visit a cell phone store in Zapote, Las Piñas and went up to the second floor where the store tenants are renting rooms also. The place looks very unfit for human occupancy.

The running water is weak, the toilet is filthy, and the whole place simply stinks. And to think that Las Piñas prides itself to be a clean city! Can Mayor Nene Aguilar do something about this? Who is supposed to be the oversight of local sanitation officials? Is it the Department of Health (DOH) or the Department of Interior & Local Government (DILG)? I hope they are not just pointing blame at each other!

What is the difference between providing charity and providing livelihood? Providing charity means giving away dole outs to people who are incapable of earning enough even if they are working, or to people who are not inclined to work for a living. Providing livelihood means giving people the capability to earn a living either by working in a job, or by owning a small business.

The line of differentiation between these two appears to be controversial, because many people are against the practice of giving away dole outs, especially to those who would rather not work. As a way to reconcile the difference between these two, I think that we should look at providing charity as a first aid measure only, meaning that we should aim to provide livelihood as a long term measure.

In a manner of speaking, providing charity is a form of poverty alleviation, meaning that acts of charity would help the poor people in bearing with the sufferings of charity, but it would not elevate them above the poverty threshold. In other words, they will still remain poor after we give them first aid. Conversely, providing livelihood is a form of poverty reduction, meaning that livelihood assistance could eventually enable them to earn enough to go above the poverty threshold so that they will no longer be poor thereafter.

If you are looking for good news, I have some good news for you. By natural consequence, the thrust towards living the “green life” is now creating livelihood opportunities for the people who are growing healthier, safer food to eat. The good news is that more and more of my friends and corporate contacts have expressed an interest to buy natural and organic foods primarily for the purpose of their own consumption, but secondarily for the purpose of helping the people I am helping.

Inspired by this development, I am now encouraging my friends and readers to embrace the “Green Thrust” lifestyle. All it takes to adopt this lifestyle is to eat healthier and safer food, buying these from the farmers who are growing and producing this kind of food. In support of this lifestyle, I am now helping the farmers in our project sites to adopt the organic and natural methods of agriculture. Have you heard of urban farming? Yes it is possible to do that now, and that is yet another bit of good news for the urban poor who are looking for new ways of making a living.

Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text me at +639293605140. Watch my TV show “KA IKING LIVE” every Friday from 930 to 1030 PM in Destiny Cable Channel 3. Tune in to “KAPIT-BAYAN” in DWIZ 882 KHZ 5 to 6 PM Mon to Fri. Embrace the “Green Thrust” lifestyle. Eat Right, Do Right.