ON the streets of Metro Manila, evidence of failed public services abound.
We speak not only of the horrendous traffic snarls that have become commonplace at any time of the day, or the panhandling urchins that neither the city governments nor the Department of Social Welfare and Development seems capable of keeping safe off the streets.
On an even more basic level, long years of mismanagement and corruption that began with the Aquino administration have left us with vehicles with a mishmash of license plates, including an undetermined number that have no official plates to speak of, or only improvised facsimiles that serve only ornamental functions.
The previous administration was clearly responsible for this mess, as it signed a dubious P3.8 billion contract in 2014 with an undercapitalized, unqualified company to make plates, not only for new vehicles but to replace old, existing plates in the name of standardization. Hundreds of thousands of vehicle owners paid for the new plates—and never received them, an anomaly that the new administration has yet to address, six months into President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.
Another mess caused by the previous administration has left some three million drivers without proper drivers licenses, holding only paper receipts as proof that they are properly registered and authorized to drive.
The Land Transportation Office said it will start the long delayed distribution of plastic license cards this week to finally reduce the huge backlog.
It is unclear, however, if drivers who renew their licenses starting this week will be able to get their plastic licenses immediately, as they were able to do for years before the Aquino administration made a mess of the licenses, too.
We are relieved that the LTO has finally moved on the licenses, but more must be done to clean up the mess, sooner rather than later.
The absence of standard, official license plates has serious implications on law enforcement efforts. How are police, for example, supposed to identify vehicles used in a crime, in the absence of these standard plates?
The license plate mess also has serious implications on the social contract between the public and the government. If the public pays for a good or service that the state fails to provide, this can only weaken the trust and confidence the people have in their government.
Clearly, it isn’t sufficient for the current administration to blame its predecessor for our transport woes. Rather, it must do two things with great dispatch. First, it must prosecute all those who were responsible for the mess. Just as important, it must act more swiftly than it has to correct the anomalous situation and restore public confidence in government.