A journey where we share the road

That is precisely why we initiated the Road Revolution Movement (roadrevolution.ph). It is an effort to find a solution to this problem of traffic congestion by changing the mindsets, attitudes and practices (MAP) of our people. The Road Rev Movement seeks to REView the road system to make it more fair by giving everyone their share of public space. The Road Rev Movement seeks to REVise the road system to favor those who cannot afford cars and motor vehicles. Finally, the movement also seeks to turn around1 the mindset of transportation — from the existing model of individual transportation to a system that is collective, less pollutive, and more efficient in the transport of men and things.

Sa Binisaya pa, dili ta magtagsa-tagsa ug lihok kay samok.

If there is anything good that came out of the September 24 experience, it is the realization of the critical need for mass transportation in Cebu City. Cebu has more and more people with less and less space. Filling it up the roads with inefficient motor vehicles is simply not the way to go.

Let us not lose sight of the need to rethink the road and transportation system of the country. In Cebu City where the traffic congestion has gone from bad to worst, where public transportation system is chaotic, expensive, and dysfunctional, there is a need to think even harder.  Our formal leaders are at their wits end and have not proposed a viable solution.

We, the people, are trying to propose a solution – road sharing.

For this purpose, we submitted a proposed ordinance for road sharing to the City Council last June 13, 2011. Sections 120-127 of the Local Government Code gives power to the people to propose an ordinance directly to their City Council.

Our proposal is to share the road space in this manner:

Sidewalks – 30 % of the road

Bike lanes -30 %

Collective transportation system (such as buses,

jeepneys, trams, etc) – 30%

Edible garden (of vegetable and fruits – 10%

THIS IS THE LAW

Incidentally, this is not a simple wish, nor a figment of my imagination. There is actually a law that directs the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the DPWH to reform the transportation system to follow …

“… the new paradigm in the movement of men and things…. It must follow a simple principle that those who have less in wheels must have more in roads. For this purpose, the system shall favor non-motorized locomotion and collective (or mass) transportation system (walking, bicycling, and the man-powered mini-train.”

“The DOTC and the DPWH shall immediately transport roads using the same principle.” (Section 9, Executive Order 774, 2008)

A NEW APPROACH

In the past, I have only used the thinking tool of the Law to tell a story in the courtroom. Today, despite the failure of Government to implement the law I cite above, I have not resorted to legal action.

There is an African proverb that says: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with many.” In the last story in a court of law, I was alone trying to tell the story of Manila Bay. It took me TEN Years – from the Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. And all I achieved was to tell the simple story of what we were doing to the crown jewel of the country. If the African proverb thinks that is fast enough, I do not know what is slow.

This time, I wanted to try a new approach – to tell a story to many people in the country, starting with Cebu. I had hoped that if the people understood it and they we will walk together, and maybe we will go a little farther. And despite the choice of other cities to begin it, I decided to start in Cebu City. It is the city where I grew up and in which I have very fond memories.

To me, Cebu City is a good choice. It is an old city, very compact, and also has very small roads. Despite its very limited flat land area, it is a magnet for an ever-growing population. Traffic congestion is reaching crisis levels and maybe, in this crisis my fellow Cebuanos will see opportunity. Geographically, Cebu is the solar plexus of the country. Lastly, Cebu has some of the most lively, fun-loving, and hard-headed people in the country.

If Cebu can do it, a wave of change will radiate from the center, much like the ripples in a pond.  If Cebu can do it, it will be the envy of the rest of the country. (To be concluded)

DRAFT ORDINANCE

Thus, we submitted a draft ordinance to the Cebu City Council last June 13, 2011. Under the law, the Council had 30 days from June 13 to take favorable action on the proposal. Otherwise, under the Law, the people can petition the COMELEC and submit the question to the people in a referendum.

To the eternal credit of the Cebu City Council and of the good City Mayor, during our meeting last July 19 and 20, it was suggested that we pilot the idea in the Heritage District. Experience being the best teacher, we believed that if people were to see for themselves and experience the benefits of road sharing, they would not need a lot of convincing.

We had hoped that for 12 hours, out of the 8,760 hours of the year, our people would experience, however briefly, the joys of walking or cycling in the very small stretch of roads in the old City of Cebu. Many, many people enjoyed it. But then people who are happy are silent. It is only the people who complain who speak up. Such is human nature.

I could only wish that some of our formal leaders were around to take a walk in the old Colon Street during that day. Perhaps, they too would have seen the joy in the faces of the people. For the first time, they experienced a taste of walking in the oldest street in the country without choking from the smoke of motor vehicles.

LOSSES AND LESSONS

In closing, we wish to reiterate that the Road Revolution Movement is not about closing roads; rather, it is about sharing roads. Last September 13, during the planning for the 24 September event, we agreed with members of the transport sector on the principle of road sharing. By doing so, we hoped to illustrate the working principles of the road revolution. The representatives of the jeepney drivers were quite excited to show that they were not the problem, but that they were part of the solution.

Whatever may have fallen in the cracks in our communications and preparations with the CITOM and with the organizers, I take full responsibility. To me, there are no losses, only lessons; and every crisis is an opportunity. The lessons learned from the 24 September experience will only make us do better in the future.

Changing Cebu or any other city in the Philippines is the easy part. The real challenge is to make Cebu do it so well that it will be the envy of the country and of the rest of the world. That will take a few more years and a lot of cooperation.

To those who have critiqued the concept of the movement and its rough beginnings, we thank them for their comments and suggestions.  We assure them, and those who have been inconvenienced, that we will use our shortcomings to do better next time.

But let me thank the critics and skeptics  even more for the free publicity they are giving to the idea by stirring up a debate. “The mind becomes more acute when it is rubbed against another mind.”

To those whom I hear have been pounding my name in public, and so long as they stay away from personal attacks, I do not mind. Someone once said that “I do not care what they say of me as long as they spell my name correctly.”

Democracy and the free market of ideas are alive and well in my beloved City of Cebu.  Mabuhay ka, Cebu!