Hazy, foolish machinations

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza

In a nation where people are about to experience problems due to development and urbanization similar to those felt in advanced countries, there is need to restudy and amend rules to stop the inconveniences that so-called regulations brought to our midst.

The traffic re-routing scheme that seemed to have served SM on one hand and had disadvantaged the UP College Baguio, Convention Center, City High, DOT and adjacent areas on the other hand, has to be reassessed.

Even Mayor Domogan asks for its review since it has been there on an “experimental” basis but its deadline or length of implementation has never been known.

Every time I drive around that circuit, I ask why in the first place the traffic was re-routed. The usual traffic scheme that motorists got used to was alright until it was changed.

As far as experience tells me, one of the causes why motorists around the rotunda at the top of Session Road get entangled is when an “aginpopogi” and undisciplined Manila drivers make shortcuts – a violation similar to the “counterflow” that P-Noy hates.

The other causes are that selfish jeepney drivers who ply the SM-Post Office route use the frontage of the YMCA building as their loading-unloading station.

Just like any traffic observer, I wonder why that part of the traffic problem was not what was isolated and studied – instead, the traffic jam around the rotunda below SM was exploited as the reason to make a re-routing experimental scheme, consciously or unconsciously benefiting SM.

And adding insult to injury, part of Upper Session road has a marker that says “SM only.” Where in the world do you find public officials who segregate a stretch of a public road that will serve the interest of a private entity?

One more thing, it appears that traffic authorities have not noticed that traffic jams became more packed as motorists are all moving around because they cannot find any parking space as almost all roads have the “No Parking” sign.

Now I believe retired Police Superintendent Rafael Delson who said that the answer to traffic congestion is to keep motor vehicles stationary or out of the road instead of keeping them mobile. He said if motorists continuously move around due to the absence of a parking space, the result is a traffic jam.
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People do not receive extra benefits for protecting trees inside lands that they have tax declared. That is why many tax declared lands are deforested because of that.

Former La Trinidad councilor William Esteban now says government must study the possibility of giving tax incentives to persons who plant and protect trees inside their lots – maybe an incentive per tree that occupies at least a square meter of land being paid by the taxpayer.

William’s idea came in the wake of discussions about problems on environmental destruction in La Trinidad. His idea is very laudable but we hope government, particularly, congress, endorses it.

Engr. Patrick Concepcion, La Trinidad municipal assessor said trees are included as improvements on lands and they too can be taxed. Ironically, when the occupant or planter cuts down what he has planted, he is penalized or required to acquire a tree-cutting permit and pay the corresponding forest dues that is computed based on an estimate.

Here, the ordinary tax payer’s thinking becomes clear – that protecting trees does not give him direct benefits and cutting trees without permission only brings in penalties.

In relation to this, government does not approve applications for titling especially on forested lands that is why people resort to cutting down the trees in order to pass requirements for land titling. Isn’t it time, tree-cutting laws, tax declaration laws and land laws are revisited? – marchfianza777@yahoo.com