The City of San Pedro have recently passed two ordinances regulating “outside noises” such as loud mufflers on motorcycles and karaoke, especially at night. (See supplement for additional details).
One question, does these ordinances include regulating those incessant loudspeakers reminding motorists to get their cars out of sidewalks?
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There’s been a lot of hullabaloo in this city about the LGU’s efforts to comply with the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) order to rid major roads and sidewalks of obstructions.
Hardly a day pass by without staff from the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) getting into heated arguments with irate motorists who were furious at having their vehicles moved from the sidewalk.
The problem, as I see it, is that many buildings and houses in this city were built without making allowances for car garage or even sidewalks.
In the subdivision I live in, for example, the facades of some houses and establishments have to be demolished in order to give way for sidewalks.
And yet cars hog both sides of the main road of our subdivision, which has become the only road accessible to large vehicles such as trucks and buses ever since the Magsaysay Road overpass was closed for repairs.
Heavy traffic, which wasn’t a part of my life ever since I was born and raised in that subdivision 27 years ago, is now a daily occurrence especially at rush hour.
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Let me put it this way: needles scare me to death. The mere sight of a hypodermic needle is sure to send panic waves on my being.
I loathe going to the hospital when I’m sick, as I know I would be confronted by needles. Sure, call me “exaggerating,” but that’s the way I am.
And I’m not alone. Scientists have acknowledged that “trypanophobia,” or the fear of hypodermic needles, is a challenge in the push to encourage people to have themselves vaccinated against COVID-19.
“[Trypanophobia] is a real fear that impacts about 25 percent of adults, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The fear can be so bad that about 7 percent of adults actually avoid getting vaccinated because of it,” according to a Health.com article.
So here’s the question I am facing now: when I become eligible for vaccines, will I take one?
And the answer will be, yes.
Yes, because I believe this is the easiest way for us to return to our normal lives.
Yes, because I have a responsibility for my family, my friends, my co-workers and the public in general.
Yes, because I believe and trust in the scientists who are working hard and long to find solutions to beat the pandemic.
Yes, because I want to be free from a world of fear, anxiety and stress that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust upon us.