‘…the fact is that our streets are dangerous and will only mean injury and even death in case of an F-1 race in Manila.’
IN Singapore last month, my friend asked me, “Bakit Di tayo mag-host ng F-1 race sa Manila?”
The guy wasn’t suggesting that just so that PBBM could do his race networking without having to fly abroad. As I said in a previous piece, the President’s annual trips to Singapore for the F-1 race would be well worth it if and when he causes our Bureau of Immigration and Deportation to adopt the same smart technology that Singapore has adopted for their arrival and departure immigration procedures.
To be fair to the BID, I know that they did for a while have some portals for self-entry immigration processing, vaguely remembering some channels at Terminal 1. I haven’t used Terminal 1 in a long time so I am not aware if they’re still there or if their number has increased. If they haven’t, they should.
Anyway, my friend made that remark in response to an earful we got from our Grab driver who, while driving us to Lau Pa Sat, was telling us how much Singapore was making from the F-1 race, on money terms as well as in publicity mileage.
Anyone of us mere mortals who have tried to book a hotel room in Singapore during the period of the races will know that hotel rates are good only for corporate and country presidents who want to use the occasion for networking. The rest of us have to wait till after the race (as I did) when rates are back to normal.
My reaction to his question was to paint for him a gruesome image of so many spectators and even drivers dead and injured —because the fact is that our streets are dangerous and will only mean injury and even death in case of an F-1 race in Manila. So that’s why we can’t host the race and the President is forced to fly to Singapore for networking.
Just late last week, along McKinley Road, Stanley, a motorcycle rider, was thrown off his bike when he hit a pothole he didn’t see: there were weak street lights and some were enveloped in the leaves of the acacia trees that lined the avenue. As a result, he suffered numerous bruises on his arms near his elbows, and on his thighs beneath his slacks.
Shaken, he was helped to the side of the road where he sat on the sidewalk, checking the bike for any damages.
And then the bike itself was hit by the right-side view mirror of my Jeep after I had to swerve to avoid another car that cut in front of me. The bike’s handlebar then hit Stanley on the cheek and threw him on his back on the sidewalk. When I stopped to get out of my car to check what happened, the first thing I heard was Stanley moaning in Filipino: “My teeth! My teeth!” The impact caused him to lose one tooth and loosened another, while his braces were undone. Thankfully, after a check-up at a nearby hospital, he was told that he didn’t suffer any injuries needing surgery, but he needed dental work.
Yes, even a road like McKinley Road is in such a state that it poses dangers to motorists.
What more EDSA?
And that’s why we can’t have the F-1 races here, ever.
Our streets are dangerous indeed.
Always drive — and ride — carefully.
