I am a paraplegic who goes to work every day. I wear braces on both legs and walk with the aid of two canes. Since mobility is a problem, I am brought to the office via car. Since the early 1990s, way before Bayani Fernando became chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) I have sought exemption from the weekly number coding as it is difficult for me to commute especially during the rainy season. Every quarter, I am issued a UVVRP Certificate of Exemption for which I pay P100. I renew this exemption every three months.

Last Jan. 8, I followed up my request for the renewal of my exemption for the period January to March 2009 with MMDA personnel Sylvia Antonio as I normally do every quarter. Unfortunately, Ms Antonio was unavailable and I was referred to her assistant, Mildred.

I informed Mildred of my predicament but to my dismay, she told me that no exemptions were yet available, as the signatory had not had the time to sign any of the renewals.

Worried about being apprehended on my number-coding day, I inquired if it was possible for me to inform the MMDA traffic enforcers that I had a pending renewal for coding exemption. They could always radio the main office to verify my claim.

Mildred’s reply was curt: “Ay hindi po, mahuhuli po kayo talaga. Wala po kaming magagawa doon.”

But I am handicapped, physically disabled, I told her. To which she said: “Eh di mag-taxi kayo.”
I had to explain to her again that as a cripple, it was difficult for me to stand on a street corner, propped up by two canes, in the rain, and to flag down a taxi during rush hour.

“Wala ho kaming magagawa,” she said and that was the end of the conversation. There was no effort on her part to assuage my fear of being apprehended by their officers, or to reassure me that my exemption would be forthcoming.

The MMDA is a government agency funded by taxpayers’ money. Is this the way they are supposed to serve the public?

Why even offer an exemption to the physically challenged if they don’t care what happens to them? Why does Fernando think he can be the nation’s president when he can’t even teach his personnel basic courtesy and concern for the weaker sectors of society?

I once worked for the government—as editor/writer for the Department of Education and as a media specialist for the National Shelter Program. I know for a fact that as a government employee, your primary mandate is to provide public service!

This person under Ms Antonio working for the MMDA was definitely not given the proper orientation or briefed by MMDA chief Bayani Fernando on the importance of courtesy to the people they have promised to serve.

Public service is public trust. How can you entrust the future of the country to someone who cannot control the people under him?

TESS VALTE (via email)