[SIZE=2]The Manila Times
Wednesday, August 15, 2007


BIG DEAL
By Dan Mariano

Ban low-numbered plates

Days after he was elected Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro announced he will not get No. 8 plates for his car. The opposition congressman said lawmakers should not place themselves above other road-users; like everybody themselves, they should submit themselves to traffic regulations. Rodriguez has kept his promise.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel has taken the matter one step further. Last weekend he announced that he is seeking a ban on low-number protocol or courtesy plates on vehicles of high-ranking government officials.
"The issuance of those low-numbered car plates for high government officials paints an ugly picture that top-level public servants are a special lot, entitled to treatment and privileges not enjoyed by ordinary Filipinos," Pimentel said.
Under Senate Bill 1158 he authored, all low-numbered car plates starting from No. 2, all the way down to the numbers assigned to Cabinet members and bureau directors issued in the past will be canceled and deemed withdrawn.
Pimentel said certain public officials have the twisted notion that the low-numbered plates give them license to break traffic rules.

"Many high-ranking government officials and middle-level bureaucrats today roam our streets like members of royalty in heavily-tinted vehicles sporting low-numbered car plates," Pimentel said. "They evoke a false impression that these favored few are exempt and insulated from the reach of traffic rules and regulations."

He added: "Since they are public servants, they should be at the forefront in observing road regulations that are to be followed by all. They should lead by example."

Under the Pimentel bill, the official vehicles of the President and those of representatives of foreign states, as provided by any treaty, agreement or protocol sanctioned by international law or practice would be exempted from the ban on protocol plates.

The exemption, however, will not apply to representatives of foreign states or international organizations that do not grant Filipino diplomatic representatives similar privileges.

Question: Will other lawmakers be as willing as Senator Pimentel and Congressman Rodriguez to give up their protocol-plate privileges?
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