* This is my column in BusinessWorld last December 29, 2017.
See also:
“Little else is
requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest
barbarism but peace, easy taxes and a tolerable administration of justice: all
the rest bring about by the natural course of things.”
— Adam Smith, lecture in 1755; author of The Wealth of Nations (1776)
This is the continuation of my article, “The MMDA towed
my car even with my kids inside” published here on Dec. 21.
Through a mutual friend, I was able to talk to Mr. Mike
Salalima, Deputy Chief of Staff of MMDA Chairman Danny Lim, last Dec. 20, a day
after my car was towed by MMDA-accredited Fighter Towing Co. (not Tiger as I’ve
previously written and for that I apologize.)
Mike said that my case was not a case of an “unattended
vehicle” and hence, the penalty should have been a simple violation ticket of
anti-illegal parking. Thus, the towing from Makati City to Tumana, Marikina
City (which took three hours) and impounding of my car was wrong. So he
arranged for the release of my car that day and canceled my towing fee, which I
estimated would cost about P6,000 (P1,500 first 4 kilometers for light vehicles
plus P200/km thereafter).
Mike asked me if I wanted Fighter Co. to tow my car back
to Makati City but I refused since they caused my troubles in the first place
and that they might damage my car on the way back.
After the meeting with Mike, I then took a long commute
from the MMDA main office in Edsa Guadalupe to Marikina City. I saw the
impounding area the day before and when I saw it again that day to get my car,
I was aghast at hundreds of impounded vehicles — cars, vans, taxi, jeepneys,
delivery trucks, tricycles, motorcycles. Those vehicles should be transporting
people and goods, not gathering rust. Private properties, many of which were
the result of years of savings and sacrifices such as working abroad for
several years, were impounded for months and even years on end, wasting away.
Why would the state through an agency like the MMDA have
the power to confiscate private property? And in large numbers at that? Is it
not the protection and respect of private property an important function and
purpose why governments were created in the first place?
As the quote from Adam Smith suggested, the state can
rise from barbarism to opulence and wealth via peace not violence, few taxes,
and permits, not more, confiscatory justice administration, however tolerable.
For sure, not all of those hundreds of confiscated
vehicles were impounded during the time of Chairman Danny Lim. They have
accumulated since many years ago as evidenced by the amount of rust, degree of
physical deterioration and height of grasses and vines that have engulfed many
vehicles. A number of those vehicles though looked like some of their parts
have been removed or stolen.
The purpose of towing and impounding is to help reduce
traffic congestion in Metro Manila by removing temporary or permanent
obstructions in selected roads. But the act of towing a briefly parked vehicle
with the driver just nearby and bring it to a place many kilometers away is
already creating traffic in more areas of the metropolis.
I was inside my car while it was being towed and I saw
the towing truck made several traffic violations, such as (a) counter-flowing
traffic in a section of Makati Avenue towards Buendia and (b) beating the red
light from the Green Meadows area turning left towards C5. It was a regular
case of government-accredited vehicles to correct traffic violations being
traffic violators themselves. Those trucks were rushing to tow and impound as
many cars as possible in a day because of the big money involved collecting the
towing fee.
Drastic changes need to be instituted by the current MMDA
leadership on the system of towing and impounding of vehicles. Two of possible
moves would be: (1) Stop the towing and impounding scheme unless vehicles were
used in committing crimes like murder and robbery. Violations of anti-illegal
parking should be slapped with fines, higher fines if they want, and/or
clamping of unattended vehicles. Or (2) allow the process of towing to be
subject to challenge by vehicle owners and when the MMDA personnel and private
towing companies are found to be wrong in their judgment, they must pay the
vehicle owner/s two to three times the estimated towing fee plus any damages to
the vehicles.
Governments should go back to their classical raison
d’etre or reason for existence — protect the people’s right to life, right to
private property, and right to liberty. It is not government function to create
many restrictions and prohibitions in society like so many “No Parking” areas,
so many requirements and costly permits before people can do business like
operating a van to transport people and goods. Having many restrictions and
prohibitions means many violations, fines and penalties; many opportunities for
harassment and extortion of often helpless and less-informed citizens.
---------------
See also:
BWorld 174, MMDA towed my car even with my kids inside, December 31, 2017
BWorld 175, Trends in global and Philippine trade, January 05, 2018
BWorld 176, Road trips and PPP projects, January 06, 2017
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