AT least seven members of the House of Representatives, described by the leadership and their colleagues as “Young Guns,” commended President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. for issuing an order that bans government officials from using sirens and blinkers in their vehicles.
Reps. Migs Nograles (PBA, Partylist), Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Partylist), Pammy Zamora (Taguig), Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur), Paolo Ortega (La Union), Jay Khonghun (Zambales), and Cheeno Miguel Almario (Davao Oriental) welcomed Administrative Order (AO) No. 18 that covers all elected and appointed officials, except those authorized to use the devices.
“This administrative order is very laudable, especially since we all know, and we have all not been oblivious to the fact that some of our government officials have indeed been abusing the use of these sirens and blinkers,” Nograles, a lawyer and a House Deputy Majority Leader, said.
Bongalon, a House Assistant Majority Leader, remarked that AO 18 “simply means no less than the President is leading by example to all government officials and employees. President Marcos is sensitive enough to what our people on the ground feel whenever officials use these blinkers.”
“Obviously, the President takes offense that some people in government have that some kind of privileged mentality. And he acted on it right away,” Bongalon, who is a lawyer, explained.
Zamora concurred with Nograles and Bongalon. “We’re on the right path. It may always be a cliché to invoke, rather repeatedly, the line no one is above the law, but in truth and in fact, that should always be the case.”
“Nobody is exempt from adhering to the laws of the land. As we have always declared: The law applies to all. We should take it from there. No exceptions,” Zamora declared.
“It’s actually a shame that they have been doing this for a long while now. It’s about time we do this again,” Zamora said, adding this should be the “standard,” and not the other way around.
Adiong said “The issuance of this AO 18 is just right. We really have to follow this, and keep this in mind because we should be role models to the public in general.”
As for Ortega, he said “this is a step on the right direction.”
“I think it’s very annoying to see these officials use these sirens and blinkers with impunity, as if they are entitled and can always get away with it,” Ortega said.
“There simply cannot be chaos or disruptions in our thoroughfares only because some public officials feel that they have all the right to squeeze in through traffic. This is just unacceptable,” Khonghun for his part stressed.
On a personal level, especially in the hustle and bustle of the cities in Metro Manila, Almario said “we’ve made sure that we abide by the laws that we ourselves have crafted and upheld.
“It doesn’t make sense to break laws as a lawmaker. If I have to go through the heavy traffic of EDSA, I leave earlier than expected to get to where I need to be on time. If time doesn’t permit, then at least we are aware of what needs to be fixed in our traffic schemes. We as lawmakers have to also immerse ourselves in what everyone is experiencing to know what policies are bent, broken, and doing well. We are citizens first after all. With this, I applaud PBBM for his initiative on AO. 18,” Almario said.
Among service vehicles exempted from AO 18 are those from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, fire trucks from the Bureau of Fire Protection, hospital ambulances, and other emergency vehicles.
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