By Robert B. Roque Jr.
Road rage is not merely a traffic altercation. It is a living, breathing specimen of failure in governance.
When House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos filed House Bill 8190, the proposed Anti-Road Rage Act, he framed it as drawing a firm legal line between ordinary traffic violations and deliberate acts that put lives at risk. The move came after his younger brother was reportedly a passenger in a Toyota Land Cruiser that figured in an incident along the North Luzon Expressway, involving a convoy believed to be that of Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando.
Reports said the convoy had the monopoly on all four lanes along the NLEx section in Bulacan. The story goes that the governor’s security allegedly pulled the vehicle over and drew firearms, only backing off upon realizing what big bad bear they poked. Malacañang denied there was any road rage or even involvement of a presidential son.
The governor — bashed and bruised by varying media accounts of what consequence he faced after the incident — has asked the public to respect the Palace’s denial of the incident.
But going back to the issue of road rage, I believe this points to failure in governance if you examine the behavior of erring motorists.
First, you have motorists who take matters into their own hands because they believe traffic violators — reckless drivers who endanger others — will never get their exact penalty from the law. No one will catch them. No one will hold them accountable. So the law-abiding driver makes a Hulk-like transition into a raging animal. They could act out, retaliate, pursue, block, threaten, and even initiate violence.
The other type of road-ragers are, themselves, crazy and aggressive drivers who don’t give a damn, and the ignoramus ones who have licenses but do not know the rules. Power and privilege are what embolden them to storm out of their vehicles and march to another motorist’s driver’s side window to taunt or instigate violence. Again, failure of governance. They act as they please because they think traffic law enforcement will not get to them.
And why would they think otherwise?
Because law enforcers — traffic aides, highway patrol, LTO officers, anti-smoke-belching task forces, even regular police — suffer from a diminished reputation that no longer commands genuine respect in the hearts of Filipino motorists.
Many of them are viewed as corrupt. Many of them are known for extortion. Any violation can be tapped out of the record for a price. We all know about enforcers hiding behind electric posts and obscure intersections to ambush petty violations from drivers unfamiliar with poorly marked signs, instead of managing traffic flow. This lousy enforcement culture drives normal people crazy.
Of course, we do not absolve the road-rager — especially those drunk with power and authority. How many official vehicles have been caught violating the EDSA bus lane? From mayors to senators, newspapers are replete with documentation. Fernando may be the poster boy clown of the week, but he is hardly unique. This is a cancer of power that twists the mind into entitlement.
I agree that road rage — particularly violent and destructive acts — must be criminalized. But let us be clear: This bill should not gain merit merely because a president’s son was caught in an incident. There is no hero narrative here. If anyone deserves credit, it is the netizens who record these altercations and brave exposure so authorities cannot look away.
Finally, to Filipinos behind the wheel: what happened to you? Patriotic, community-loving, malasakit-driven, devoutly religious people — what happens when you receive a driver’s license? Government systems may be sick with incompetence and corruption. But we must not be unkind.
It is Lent. Until the law tightens its grip, perhaps conscience should.
* * *
SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View via X app (formerly Twitter). Read current and past issues of this column at https://www.thephilbiznews.com