Comment from a reader on the state of the Subic freeport:
First, I would like to thank
you for posting your thoughts on things. I have read through your posts and
find them interesting/informative.
About your post, I think
that you are hitting the nail on the head. I have only lived here now for only
9 months and I see the same thing.
The SBMA needs to be
proactive and stop daydreaming about what they will do and just do something.
If I were to let my house/yard go like some of these commercial tenants
have, I am sure that I would have been fined or thrown out in same way. Maybe
they could use some type of Fire Hazard excuse, etc... ??
The SBMA needs to be running
a PR campaign across several forms of media (radio, TV and the internet). I
have read in some of your other posts about a SBMA TV channel for keeping up
with what's going on locally but I think that they could go further with the
other outlets I have mentioned (for residents and non-residents (tourists)
alike). There is a website (https://www.
I agree with you that some
tourists may find it interesting to ride a Trike or Jeepney but I am against
that. I relish the lack of Trikes/Jeepney's in the Freeport (lack of congestion
that they create, smoke belching, failure to obey simple rules of the road i.e.
the infamous trike Uturn out of nowhere without any signals (hand or
electric)).
However, if I was the
SBMA, and I were so inclined to allow these vehicles on the base for
"tourist" applications I would do it in the following fashion;
1. Create a special SBMA
sticker/license for Commercial Operators.
2. Allow a very limited
number of these licenses (maybe 20 Jeepneys/40 Trikes??)
3. Impose strict guidelines
for said vehicles (no pollution mobiles). Jeepneys would have to be LPG powered
and Trikes would have to be 4 stroke. Any huge smoke cloud producers would lose
their "Operator License" or "Business License" until the
vehicle is operating within the guidelines (fully functioning brakes/lights,
turn signals, headlights and lack of smoke).
4. Create a penalty system
(similar to the driver's license point system in the States) to address the
Chronic Problem children (that can't obey traffic laws/SBMA guidelines and
refuse to maintain their vehicles).
5. These vehicles would be
restricted from all of the housing areas.
6. These vehicles would only
be allowed to stop at designated spots (no stopping at a corner, then driving
20 feet and stopping again).
I think that a banca boat
going back/forth between Camayan and the Pier1 area might be a viable idea. But
again, you have to promote safety and strict guidelines need to be observed
(life vests that actually work, no overloading of boats, etc.).
Bottom line; can the SBMA do
a better job? Yes... Will they? most likely not.
I am not venting but just
wanted to give my 2 cents worth...
Feel free to post my thoughts
on your blog if you want (but do not include my email address)..
From the Bugle: Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Keep them coming and they will help improve Subic. And don't worry, we won't publish your and any other commenter's email or identity. We care about what you have to say, not who you are.
From the Bugle: Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Keep them coming and they will help improve Subic. And don't worry, we won't publish your and any other commenter's email or identity. We care about what you have to say, not who you are.
Interesting comments but please don't give SBMA any ideas about allowing trikes and jeepneys on the base. While you outlined some very good rules you will have to admit that SBMA cannot or will not enforce most of the rules that are currently in place. Keeping areas clean and grass cut, they don't keep their own areas clean and cut. Not allowing farm animals such as chickens, goats, turkeys, etc. they are here and they are seen every day by the housing Detachment personnel but NOTHING is done.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that SBMA should do something, just fix something. I know there are many things needing fixing but pick one and fix it.
Re: SBMA Can Do A Better Job. A strange posting. The writer, in his fifth paragraph, says he "relishes" the fact that jeepneys and Trikes aren't allowed on base. Yet in the next paragraph he proposes a total of 60 trikes and jeepneys be allowed to operate on base under "strict guidlines" which, as the Bugle noted, would have no chance of being enforced.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering how this contributer could have missed the congestion and hazards already provided by poorly maintained Winstar and other SBMA vehicles and their drivers.
Does this guy actually drive on freeport roads? If so, he needs to get out more often.