Quick response in government service is better defined by the Department of Transportation (DOTR).
And this happened not in an emergency but at policy level.
DOTR Secretary Art Tugade was quick to act on fears of groups in Subic. These groups formed a coalition to become Save Subic Bay Mangroves Coalition, led mostly by residents and business leaders in the area.
The DOTR is rushing the building of a railway intended to “support the current industrial activities and potential demand for freight and passenger services along the Subic-Clark corridor.”
The railway will provide savings in mobility of goods and services.
But building it would involve breaking into the Roosevelt protected landscapes, three ancestral domains and 37 villages in Clark Freeport in the province of Bataan and the cities of Olongapo and Angeles, a report by a national daily said.
The project will displace 673 families, the project business study said.
Then the people and businesses adversely affected by the project raised a howl of protest. Lucky for them, Sec. Art Tugade took to their side and ordered to realign the project to avoid these areas of concern.
That is fast action from a government agency that has, in the past, earned so much contempt from the people.
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I’ll be having Covid-19 vaccination this week. Months ago, I promised not to have the vax, after stories in social media succeeded to plant that fear in me.
I had always been afraid, as a child, of doctors and hospitals. Growing up made me see their importance in our health and in our fun.
Doctors have ready answers like unthought of script to patient’s questions.
For example, a nervous patient runs to the clinic of his neighbor doctor. “Doc, I often feel like killing myself. What should I do?” Doctor: “Leave it to me.”
Another, a patient was complaining to his doctor, “I am having difficulty in breathing.” Doctor: “I can stop that.”
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As a kid, dentists were enemies if not monsters to most of us.
I had my tooth pulled out with so much screaming and crying. When nanay asked for the bill, she was charged P200.00.
My mom complained, “When his elder brother had his extraction, I paid P50.00. Why P200.00 this time?”
Doc. “Yes. Its P50.00. But three patients waiting outside left after your son started screaming and crying.”
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Back to vaccination, stories of those who had come out healthy after the jab, encouraged me to forget those FB warnings on the vaccine.
I am convinced every Filipino should get vaccinated and be protected. This is for personal health and the health of our national economy. (30)