I have a different take on Mayor Junjun Binay’s insistence on passing through a no-exit gate on his way out of an exclusive Makati village.
The subdivision’s “no-exit rule” was a reflection of its owners’ arrogance. By refusing to allow traffic to pass through its gated community, the subdivision management and its owners set themselves apart from the general public whom they sneer at for not being of their class. By this behavior, they are no different from the “istambay” in certain areas of Manila and Tondo, who block off intersections for the purpose of turning them into basketball courts—woe to the commuting public!
Rich and poor communities have distinguished themselves with “hallmarks of impunity” by which they make sure that the government can’t touch them. They are no different from the members of the ruling elite who exercise power without regard for public accountability, and greedily grab anything they can from government.
How would you feel if you were in Mayor Binay’s shoes? Elected by the people, yet he could not move freely around his city because a few people said so? This is totally absurd. What is this, the rule of the few? That, my friends, was what ignited the French Revolution—and that is why we still have insurgents.
I do not live in Makati; I am from Davao City. But I believe the mayor and his bodyguards did right in that incident. I believe that it would be in the culture of Filipinos to do the same instinctively when faced with such insulting arrogance.
—GERARDO RAMON CESAR B. REYNALDO,
Km. 6, Bangkal, Davao City