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May 22nd, 2008 02:29 AM #1
Sorry if this is too long, there is just too many violations from this terminal:
This is a report against an illegal tricycle terminal that keeps forming everyday for nearly 3 years now.
History
Before then every tricycle driver fears the area in our streets, I used to ride with one and they won't even drop me off in front of our house because of the police that gives out tickets - The station is only less than 5 mins away and in plain view, add to that the Municipal hall about a minute away. Our home is residing besides a major road - Rizal Avenue. Tricycles really shouldn't be parking or picking up passengers there anyway. There are designated legal terminals on the side streets for that. But during that time we noticed a large group of tricycle drivers that started parking on the side of the bank besides us (Now Premiere bank) and the Ministop shop. These tricycles were noisier than any other vehicles outside, their mouths and curse words are worse. They started urinating besides our home, sometimes fighting amongst themselves, blocking the way of the pedestrians and blocking traffic especially in rush hours.
My father complained to the police and the municipal office regarding the situation and they made a municipal ordinance #44 that specifically blocks out any tricycles from parking and building a terminal in there. "No illegal tricycle terminal". The drivers went angry and eventually one of them gave a death threat to my father, "Patutumbahin kita/namin". My father alerted the police regarding the grave threat and the police talked to the driver who gave the threat. The culprit was never arrested or jailed, my father was given a gun license. Later on the municipal ordinance signs were sabotaged by the drivers, they were slowly destroyed and most were stripped off and stolen. Again my father sent a complaint to the police and the pnp personel brought the few remaining signs and attached it to our gates for safe keeping.
During the first 2 years I was not aware of the situation and the threats given to my father. When I came home after resigning from my work in Makati and started to live in Taytay for awhile, I started experiencing the noise and abuse these drivers have been doing in our neighborhood. The walls stink of urine, the already small walkways are blocked and I always hear the trafficking and shouting/cursing these drivers do.
I wasn't that motivated before to send in reports, until the time my father mentioned the person who threatened him. A few weeks go by and I always notice the lack of respect these drivers show to my father, my father would try and scold them and tell them it's illegal there and these drivers would talk back. Some drivers pretend to leave and circle around - right in front of us. Everyday we are being mocked like this. When my father is arriving home I noticed these drivers were yelling out 'Buwaya'. My father is almost 80 years old.
I made my first report by calling PNP Taytay, one of them told me that they are having a hard time resolving the issue since these drivers kept coming back anyway. Many more calls and I notice no police came in. During those days of reporting I kept hearing tricycle drivers pretending to sound like a police siren and yelling out 'Buwaya', when there is not a single police unit to arrest them. At that time I felt that something is seriously wrong.
One day I was at the balcony and found 3 policemen riding 2 motorcycles, they are talking to the drivers and one of the trike drivers showed one policeman a piece of paper. The policeman read it and gave it back to the driver. I do not know yet what it was, probably a route list of the illegal terminal?. If that wasn't suspicious enough at broad daylight I noticed all the drivers in the area continued to line up as an illegal terminal, without fear of getting arrested. They all look so secure of the area, I've also seen many police who walk around in the area that never even bothered to arrest the drivers or at least scold them for parking beside that road.
During those days I got really angry about the situation. The drivers kept abusing the area, our home and my father and yet the PNP are not taking reports seriously. A few weeks later my father told me that the PNP in Taytay really were not intent in giving them tickets. They told my father that what the PNP is doing is "Humanitarian consideration" to the drivers. That is like telling us they are above an ordinance now. Another thing that is worse is that they have lied to us during our calls, they were not really having a hard time arresting them, they are simply letting them go ... and abuse the streets, urinate, etc....
I wrote an email to the PNP website, addressing a complaint against the PNP Taytay for not responding to reports, lying to us and to report the 3 policemen who is suspiciously collaborating with the driver. All my emails bounced. I've sent sms complaints to the PNP TxT service and I received a link a spam site (pnp.com.ph instead of pnp.gov.ph)
After a few weeks my father decided to talk to the PNP chief again, but we received a report that one of those emails eventually reached the PNP headquarters in camp crame. The Chief of PNP Taytay reassured my Dad that they have made tickets already to the drivers and will help out in the issue. One of the policemen talked to the 'president' of the illegal terminal and gave a warning against parking there. About half a day things turned quiet, then later in the afternoon the trikes were back - yelling out and shouting about how they will never be sent away from there. During that time I stopped making reports as it is becoming tiring.
The next day I was outside the house doing laundry, the trikes are still parked outside and then one of them which seemed like the same person who gave a threat to my Dad talked out loud in front of our gate (in an indirect way - 'parinig') "Tawag lang ng tawag, text lang ng text", in all those months of reporting I try and stay away from trouble and not let my identify be known as the person who keep making those reports and yet these drivers somehow knew. I figure the police told them so, nobody else knew but the PNP. Soon after the verbal abuse became louder and louder and increasingly worse, everyday we hear a curse word outside of drivers complaining and yelling out 'buwaya'. One of them bragged that they will never be sent out because there are many of them.
The first few months betwen February and March something happened, I noticed that the trikes outside were noisier than before. Then the next few days I found them hiding besides ministop during the daytime with one driver walking around without their trikes to gather passengers and call out the first trike in line from Video city. Sometimes groups of trike drivers sit down near ministop and just sat there waiting for passengers. During those days whenever I leave the house they would look at me threateningly, they are doing the best they can to mock me and sometimes calling on me for a ride to their tricycles. I saw some people with tshirts with the name of the Mayor guarding the road in between our house. But that didn't stop the illegal terminal, the very worst time they can cause even more noise is during the night time - from 4pm to 9pm. Nobody is arresting them during that time.
No solution worked and these drivers are venting their anger by shouting nearby our house. They pollute with noise and what seemed more like threatening shouts and 'parinig'. There are many 'parinig' and snide remarks these drivers talk back near our house, one of them pretended to talk to their own group about someone they will 'take care of', another responded 'Kami na ang bahala', during that time I notice 2 drivers waiting in front of the house during the evenings and watching so closely. One time I locked the gate and when these two drivers saw me they immediately stood up and stared at me, that time I thought that it may not be a good idea to walk around alone at night anymore. These drivers are angry and have nothing to lose.
I think the best person who could solve this issue ay isang politiko, Mayor at least. I will ask to help us out but as careful as possible to remove or move this terminal & implement stricter enforcement (this is more than a parking violation na kasi, may pananakot na). But I think I have a low chance of being taken seriously since onti lang kami (ilang boto ang dalawang pamilya kumpara sa isang terminal) so I thought of contacting the media na (Imbestigador, xXx, etc). This is a delicate issue, ako ngayon pinagiinitan ng mga trikes na yan natatakot na rin mga neighbors ko dahil nga sa seguridad nila pero wala na rin ako magagawa kelangan mapaalis na sila dahil target na ako (salamat sa pnp, walang integridad at professionalism, pinahamak ako). Do you think is a good solution?
Another thing, kung sakali kinakailangan - papaano magdemanda, at ano ang ang mga violations na pwede? (against the trikes and possibly the PNP, but medyo risky na yata so trikes na lang muna)
Kicks, yes. Leaf, no.
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