YOU DON?T SEE HIGHWAY PAtrol cops on the highways anymore.

You don?t see them on Edsa either.

That?s the reason there are many accidents on our highways and on Edsa caused by reckless or drunken drivers.

I don?t have the figures of deaths caused by accidents on our highways, but I was told they?re very high.

Accidents on our highways happen because there are no policemen enforcing rules against speeding and overloading.

Of what use are members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group?

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You only see PNP traffic control cops flagging down speeding drivers and overloaded passenger vehicles when their chief or other top police officials from Camp Crame are coming to visit them in their city or town.

They collect money from erring drivers so their superiors will have a ?good time? in the city or town.

That?s the only use of PNP traffic control cops.

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Why do stalled vehicles on highways use leaves or branches of trees to forewarn oncoming motorists or drivers when they should be using an emergency warning device (EWD)?

There are two kinds of EWD which are triangular in shape. One is yellow, the other one red.

The yellow EWD is placed about 50 meters from the stalled vehicle, while the red one is placed 25 meters away to warn oncoming drivers to slow down or change lanes.

All vehicles are required to have EWDs in their compartments.

Why doesn?t the PNP traffic control group apprehend drivers who don?t use EWDs when their vehicles stall?

The reason is simple: The PNP traffic control group cops are mere decorations on the highways if they?re seen at all.

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My Old Man was an original member of the traffic control (Trafcon) unit of the defunct Philippine Constabulary (PC).

Trafcon eventually became the Constabulary Highway Patrol Group (CHPG) which, in its later years, became notorious because some of its members were allegedly in cahoots with car thieves.

At the time my father, a captain, was with the PC Trafcon (1957-1962), there were few deaths on the highways because the unit was very strict in enforcing traffic rules against speeding and overloading.

I remember that my father?s ?special team? was assigned at Highway 54, which is now Edsa.

Why are there no more police traffic cars patrolling Edsa?

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has its traffic enforcers on Edsa, but they?re like scarecrows in a rice field full of pesky birds?useless.

The entire personnel of the PNP traffic control group should be reassigned and replaced by new faces.

Strict enforcement of traffic rules by a new breed of traffic enforcers will bring down the accident-related death toll on our highways.

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The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) says it may be hard to recognize Sen. Ping Lacson, who?s now a fugitive of justice, because he?s probably wearing a moustache or wig.

I don?t think Ping will wear a moustache.

More likely, he?ll wear a wig because it becomes him.

Hehehe!