THREE MEMBERS of the Sanggunian Central Board (CB) affiliated with the student political party Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) proposed a bill called the Anti-Red Plate Act of 2012.

The act provides for the regulation of the proper use of government vehicles in the Ateneo campus and specifies the corresponding penalties for violations of the act’s provisions.

School of Social Sciences (SOSS) Senior CB Representative IC San Pedro, SOSS Junior CB Representative Louis de Jesus and SOSS Sophomore CB Representative Polo Martinez initiated the said act.

Martinez credited SOSS Junior Executive Officer Makki Araneta who proposed the idea to them back in the summer. The said Crusada members conceptualized and authored the bill.

The bill prohibits the ingress of vehicles with red plates into the campus unless they bear a signage that says “For Official Use Only,” according to Martinez.

The bill also pushes for the prohibition of entry of such vehicles if there is no proof of any official business in the campus.

De Jesus said, “This has been approved via unanimous vote, I believe. We’re pushing for the policy to send a message to the public that we are committed to ensuring public resources remain public, and a small step in that direction is this resolution.”

He added that the issue is not just that government cars are being used in schools, but that government resources are being misused for private benefit.

De Jesus emphasized, “The three Crusada CBs—Polo Martinez, IC San Pedro and I—are committed to this issue, and we as a party have decided to hit those officials where it hurts—in sone of the nearest, simplest manifestations of their abuse to us, which is in the parking lots of the Ateneo.”

Extension of a law

Martinez clarified that the bill they pushed for is just an extension of a promulgated law. He was referring to the Commission on Audit Circular No. 75-6, entitled “Regulating the Use of Government Motor Vehicles, Aircraft, and Watercrafts,” which is dated November 7, 1975.

The bill’s extension of the promulgated law read, “The use of government motor vehicles by the bureaus and offices enumerated under Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 733 for the purpose herein indicated shall be authorized only through the issuance of each trip ticket, duly signed by the Chief or Administrative Officer of the bureau, office or entity concerned.”

Furthermore, it also said, “Except in emergency cases, under no circumstance should government motor vehicles be used without the corresponding trip ticket having been duly issued by the official designated for the purpose.”

“In case of use of said vehicles without such trip tickets, the official to whom the vehicle is assigned, his driver and other passengers shall be personally liable for the unauthorized use thereof.”

Martinez said, “One thing we have to understand is that these red-plated vehicles are properties of the government itself. Hence, all amounts of cash expended are actually subsidized by our very taxes.”

Accountability and responsibility

Alumnus Joel Olmedo (BS ME ’89), who heard about the move, made a distinction between active and passive accountability in an interview with The GUIDON.

Olmedo said that active accountability remains with the managers of government institutions and agencies to whom the red-plated vehicles are assigned. They are supposedly tasked to police its members.

On the other hand, passive accountability lies with the public, Olmedo said. “The general public’s accountability is one of contingent detection, thus the timely provision of feedback to the authorities as and when misuse is detected by ordinary citizens.”

He reasoned that “if vehicles [are] ostensibly being used for non-official trips, I would naturally be outraged. I think it would offend any taxpayer’s sensibilities for that matter.”

He said that all organizations, most especially government agencies and institutions, have a responsibility to enforce strict audit procedures on the use of its assets.

In the case of the Anti-Red Plate Act, it is the responsibility of proper use of vehicles for official duties and functions only, Olmedo remarked.

“In other words, it should be incumbent upon its managers to enforce, monitor and sanction the proper usage of subject vehicles among its employees,” he said.

“In the case of red-plated vehicles, I believe that the general public who are taxpayers should accept a passive responsibility to provide feedback to the authorities whenever brazen misuse of these vehicles is detected.”

Martinez expressed similar thoughts. “When we speak of government transparency and accountability, we always find ourselves beneath social ideals such as justice, equality, fairness, and the like.”

“The idea behind the bill revolves around these very ideals as we try to make conscious effort to fully open everyone’s eyes to mundane forms of injustices that plague our society.”

He said that even in the Ateneo, people would think that something as miniscule as the casual use of red-plated vehicles could be left untouched.

He reasoned, “What grander operations of corruption will we allow to take place? For the most part, it all trickles down to corruption and how these very things we have deemed ‘normal’ have in fact incessantly infringed upon basic public morals.”

“Idealism aside, [the bill] is, as I have mentioned earlier, an extension of the law—something enacted to be exercised in society.”

According to Martinez, the bill was passed several weeks ago and its implementation is being pursued.