Innovative ways of catching vehicles that dirty Metro Manila air

Antipolo City, PHL   |   April 28, 2013

 Tricycle ascending Manila East Road near Philec;  it is spewing white smoke (oil);   its oil rings are busted?  Just one tricycle like this can wreck havoc on the air quality.  And there are plenty!

I am not member of any advocacy or cause oriented bloggers, or group or PCIJ or trained to do investigative work.  I work on intuition and hunches.  I find it difficult to stand at street corners and take pictures of offending vehicles (emitting dirty smoke).  I wonder why. 

I found out that vehicles operate differently when:  they are stationary, there is no load, not accelerating.  They start to pollute the air or show visible signs of pollutants when:

they are in motion;

they have load (passenger or cargo)

or going uphill.

It is best therefore for authorities with measuring device to:

l.  follow vehicles in motion in motorcycles or other vehicles

2.  do roadside tests near hills or mountains.

3. or do random checking at night (hmmmm that will be opportunity for kotong)  Anyway this is last resort.

 The culprits here are the AUV and the jeepneys as their engines labor going uphills near Philec, Manila East Road

 The van is the smoke belcher going up Beverly hills

   The overloaded jeepney's engine is laboring with heavy smoke going up a curve after Beverly Hills

 The jeepney and the tricycles are the squids

 What is the tricycle doing at the highway;  is its plying the national highway now allowed by law?

 The Clean Air Act here is a big joke;   it does not exist here.

I think these pollution problem exists because of poor implementation, checking and compliance.  (PDCA)

There is a half hearted effort, will to implement this strange law that may have been forced into the lungs of congressman or cabinet secretaries. 

The absence of enforcers, and this situation does not speak well of public governance.  We have good law but maybe a bureacracy that needs kaizen.  I am sorry if this site may have offended certain quarters.  Truth hurts.

Politics and election has something to do with this issue.  While this CCA affects the health of many, this is sacrificed for the short term benefit of getting votes from some 2 million TODA members.  You could lose your income and position if you offend this voter by strictly implementing the law