Mayor Alfredo Lim banned the "kuligligs" (motorized pedicabs/tricycle) from major streets. These "kuligligs" has been a traffic problem of Manila since they began building them. Drivers of these vehicles do not have licenses, insurance or driving etiquette.
Some say why not register it in the LTO just like with the Jeepneys. These kind of vehicle is not recognized by the Land Transportation Office. They refuse to register the kuliglig because it uses a boat motor and is against the provision of the Clean Air Act.
This is a brave move by Mayor Lim. The number of kuligligs on streets is rising and now around
10,000. They violate traffic rules by resorting to counterflows and bullying other motorists. But this is not the root of the problem. This happened because traffic officials in the MMDA or PNP do not strictly implement the traffic rules. They are bias to private vehicles. If they see a "kuliglig", pedicab, tricycle or jeepneys making counterflows, not following road signs and stop lights, they look the other way around. Some say they are paid "kotong" and some say they are scared of the drivers. In any case, the traffic officials are at fault and should change.
Traffic officials should be PRO-ACTIVE. Even the slightest traffic violation should be corrected no matter how poor or how small the violator is. If they do this, that's when people learn to follow the traffic rules.
The kuliglig drivers rallied in Manila on Wednesday and resulted to violence. Here's what Mayor Lim has to say about the incident.
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net, www.mb.com.ph
Image by Candice L. Reyes
