Verisimilitude
Recently, road signs have gone from being a warning to an order. They have gone from being small and brief to big white boards filled with bold black letters saying, “Gamitin ang footbridge (Please use the footbridge)” or “60 KPH” posted after every hundred kilometer along the highway.
Living along Commonwealth and being a common passer-by in EDSA has made me realize that Filipino stubbornness has reached another level. Surely these road signs would not have experienced such a significant change if not for what our nation’s stubbornness now effects to.
Often, I have personally witnessed people crossing the ten-lane Commonwealth highway right under a footbridge. Sometimes I wonder if they’re testing God or if they’re simply too lazy to climb a few steps for a safe passage to the other side. Even worse, I’ve seen a family tread through the whole 20 lanes and upon seeing the children walk hand-in-hand with their reckless parents, unfamiliar to the dangers their action poses, I slow down or stop just to make sure they get to the other side as safely as they can. Then I ask myself, “Did I just tolerate jaywalking?”
If you think about it, the MMDA has actually gone overboard with all the exaggerated billboards and road signs, but for some reason, Filipinos have a way of blocking safety out of their sight, as well as their minds. Cyclone wires have also been placed in the middle of the highway to prevent jaywalking, but people eventually steal portions of the wire to give way to passing people.
It might seem ridiculous at first but when it all boils down to the fact that nothing can stop Filipinos from doing what they want to do for the price of a valued life, I think to myself, “Is this really how our nation goes?”
Earlier, I mentioned the effects that our nation’s stubbornness poses is now something more than a law broken, or a manifestation of our laziness. It may even be our people’s need to always rush, and therefore, footbridges and speed limit seem to be a mere burden to our precious time. But on a deeper level, I realized that our stubbornness has amounted to taking advantage of life in general.
My point is, yes, there are indeed a lot of excuses that a lady jaywalking or a guy speeding over 60 kph can give to rationalize the crime they have committed, but never would there be a time that death can justify the simple mistake that could have been avoided.
It’s sad to realize that it has now come to this. Death could barely even convince the everyday Filipino that the footbridge is for him and it will keep him safe; that the 60 kph speed limit is for his own good and maybe teach him a lesson or two on being patient and punctual (instead of speeding the highway to rush to work). For whatever reason, Filipinos should see that death should never be an option for punishment.
