Off the mark

Asked about the Aquino administration’s stand on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s suggestion to equip traffic enforcers with guns so that they can defend themselves, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said: “Perhaps there should be a thorough study, a calm review of what happened….”

The MMDA floated the proposal immediately following the near-fatal shooting last Sept. 7 of one of its traffic enforcers by a motorist who saw red after he was accosted for a traffic violation. The motorist, Edward John Gonzales, reportedly a laundry shop owner, must be either a coward or a homicidal bully. He fled to avoid getting a traffic citation, and when traffic enforcer Larry Fiala caught up with him, he shot the latter five times in the abdomen. Or maybe Gonzales, who was driving a Nissan pickup, thought that lowly traffic enforcers who take public transport or ride a bike to go to work have no business arresting businessmen who can readily post a P200,000 bail?

The MMDA’s initial proposal may be just a natural, knee-jerk reaction of an organization that truly feels for the safety and welfare of its workforce, especially those who get hurt or killed while doing their duties. It took only a while before it backpedaled, saying that arming traffic enforcers was “just among the many ways we’re now studying to protect our traffic enforcers.” The MMDA will not take “such drastic actions without studying all options thoroughly,” added its spokesperson, Tina Velasco, as public opposition mounted.

However Malacañang’s response was perplexing. Valte’s explanation, in fact, refuted itself. In justifying the need for a “thorough study,” Valte stated the very reasons why the proposal deserves to be shot down. “Is there really a need, are there funds available, and do they have the capability to be responsible wielders of guns?” she asked.

If Malacañang meant to assure President Aquino’s kabarilan (fellow shooting enthusiasts) that nobody was going to keep them from pursuing their hobby, it was unnecessary. In fact, the incident gave them an opening to underscore the personal responsibilities attached to gun possession (one of the things they use to argue against a gun ban) and to call for the stricter laws and regulations on the purchase, ownership and licensing of guns. Which is the right approach to keep guns out of the hands of homicidal maniacs, not just gun-crazed motorists.

If Malacañang’s aim was to show that it makes decisions always with measured steps, then it misfired. It only succeeded in confirming what people have come to see as indecisiveness, if not an inability to see the obvious.

You do not arm a whole army of 1,783 traffic enforcers and go into a war mode to contain a few gun-toting lunatics driving in the streets. We have the police to go after them. And such tragic incidents can be avoided by enforcing strictly the laws on the ownership, licensing and carrying of firearms, and through closer coordination among the police, the MMDA and the traffic enforcement units of local governments in the enforcement of traffic regulations, especially in Metro Manila.

But even if arming traffic enforcers were a sensible option, where would the government get the money to buy the guns and pay for their training in their proper use? The Philippine National Police complained in 2009 that lack of funds left it “50 percent short of firepower.” Will traffic enforcers be given priority over the policemen?

Which brings us to the third point of Valte’s question: even among policemen who have undergone years of training before they are given their badges, there are still many who don’t use their gun solely for legitimate purposes. What safeguards can the MMDA put in place to prevent ill-trained traffic enforcers from training their guns on peaceful citizens?

One incident of road rage is one too many, whether the victim is a traffic enforcer, an innocent motorist, or a gun maniac. Equipping traffic enforcers with guns will just lead to more shootouts in our streets and highways. And both MMDA and Malacañang officials do not need any further study to see this.