Wheeling and dealing

“ONE OF the most valuable sectors in the society (for they) contribute a lot in the economic development of the city.”

So hailed Mayor Edwin Santiago of the local transportation sector as he feted members of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations in the capital city with a “Mass Transportation Program” Dec. 3.

Per the city hall PR, Santiago principally did two things during the event: 1) He “presented the city’s upcoming plans including the establishing of malls and centers for senior citizens and youth wherein they can use them for recreational activities; and 2) “He also expressed his support to the federation’s plans and programs including the forming of cooperative and extending financial assistance to their children through a scholarship program.”

Of the first, leisure – of the transport operators and their kin -- appears to be paramount in the mayor’s mindset vis-a-vis the city’s ever increasing, ever expanding shopping malls.

Even as the PR said the event was an “Information Education Program,” there was no mention if the mayor made even but a passing reference to the social costs his constituents suffer with every mall, heavy traffic for one where the drivers directly contribute and are themselves adversely affected, socially as well as economically.

Of the second, praiseworthy is the mayor’s expressed solidarity with the group, socio-economic inclusivity its intended effect, thus: “Lagi kong sinasabi, na walang maiiwan dito sa Syudad San Fernando, hindi natin hahayaan na habang umaangat ang iba, ay may naiiwanan. Hindi maituturing na progresibo ang isang lugar kung iilan lamang sa mga aspeto at sektor nito ang umaangat. Dito sa Syudad San Fernando, hangad ng mga nanunungkulan na makapagbigay ito ng pantay-pantay na serbisyo sa mga mamamayan, lalo na’t kayo ang isa sa mga susi kung bakit magpa-hangga ngayon ay lumalago at umuusbong ang ekonomiya dito.”

Alas, solidarity – inclusivity too – is a two-way street. Mutuality, not only in benefits, but moreso, in responsibility and accountability, makes a defining element of solidarity.    

So, the mayor reached out to them. So, did the transport group respond in kind?

Like, expressing their solidarity with the city government in its traffic management efforts even if only by promising to strictly observe road rules and regulations?

Sadly, there was nothing of that sort from the transport side, per the published accounts.

It was all from Santiago, who went on to exhort his constituents to “continue to promote and preserve jeepneys as daily modes of transportation by maintaining the tradition of riding on it.”

Elevating the jeepney – like the horse-drawn rig – to the same foundation the city itself is grounded on: “Maliban sa kalesa, isa sa mga tradisyon ng Fernandino ang pagsakay sa mga dyip, kung saan sumisimbolo ito sa isang simpleng buhay ngunit kung pagmamasdan ay matibay ang pundasyon nito, gaya ng Syudad San Fernando, isang simpleng lugar ngunit matibay ito sa pagtatag at pagpapalaganap ng mga makabuluhang programa para sa kapakanan ng bawat isa.” 

For all those laudations Santiago lavished on the transport group – aye, precisely because of it – the Mass Transportation Program served nothing more than an early campaign stage for the re-electing mayor.

Indeed, a counterfoil – to his rival Barangay Dolores chair Vilma Caluag who is said to have the city’s federation of tricycle drivers’ associations in her deep, deep, oh-so-very deep pockets. The group – banners and all – merrily, if loudly, accompanying her when she filed her certificate of candidacy. Her tarps of MAY isang salita. ORA mismo ang gawa have since becoming installed accessories of their trikes.

Caluag owning the tricycle operators and drivers on one hand, and Santiago having the jeepney operators and drivers on the other, effectively reduced the election contest in the city to the simple, indeed simplistic, equation: Vilma, TODAs. EdSa, JODAs.

Alas, whither the Fernandino goeth?

The candidates apparently hostaged to the wheel, so to speak, is nothing new though, but in fact a tradition in San Fernando elections.

Where the jeepneys and trikes are now, the calesas used to lord over. Their support a premium prize for the mayoralty candidates, most specially.

I remember then-Mayor Armando P. Biliwang unveiling the association of cocheros as his secret weapon after each victory in the polls.

In his contest though with then-comebacking Mayor Virgilio “Baby” Sanchez, Cong Mando made peremptory disclosure of having not only the calesa drivers but also the jeepney drivers as solid supporters.

To which the witty Baby riposted: Wa, queca la reng driver. Cacu no man deng paserus. (Yes, the drivers are yours. But the passengers are mine). And Sanchez won by the proverbial mile.