Motorcycle safety (2)

1 July 2013

The accident I had involving a motorcycle, not too long ago, and which I related in more detail in my last column (PJ, 27Jun’13), made me better appreciate the dangers that the motorcycle riders are subjected to, and realize how unprotected they actually are.

I believe the motorcycle has become an attractive option for a great majority of our population mainly because it makes good economic sense for them (either in terms of their work or small businesses) to acquire one, given not only the increasing cost of commuting, but also the daily hassle one usually goes through doing it. There certainly are benefits to be enjoyed by a commuter who opts to acquire a motorcycle, especially in terms of economizing in transportation cost, convenience and mobility. However, as a trade-off, they unfortunately have to contend with the additional risk of injury, or even death, from an accident that can happen.

The growth of our motorcycle riding community is galloping at a fast rate (probably already numbering more than 4 million as of today), and with it the number of motorcycle related injuries and fatalities. Based on available data sourced from the net (MMDA MMARAS Reports for 2009 and 2011), the number of motorcycle accident fatalities increased by 50% in 2011 vs. 2009 (i.e. 163 vs. 109 deaths); its percentage share of fatalities (compared to total vehicular traffic fatalities) also increased to 32.4% in 2011, from 29.5% in 2009, and has even been surpassing car accident fatalities by as much as 36% in 2009 and 79% in 2011.

Now, since most of those who take to using the motorcycle belong to that sector of our society that struggles to make both ends meet, I wondered about efforts being done by the various entities (i.e. the government agencies, motorcycle manufacturers and traders, user groups, etc.) to make motorcycle usage safer so that those who invested in these machines would have a stronger chance of gaining the expected benefits, instead of being burdened by the consequences of an accident.

So, since the focus of my curiosity is more on the safety of motorcycle use, and the mitigation of injuries and fatalities due to accidents, I searched for general information regarding motorcycles and their usage, as well as history and details of accidents involving this machine.

My simple web research on the matter seems to point to the Metro Manila Development Administration as the government agency that somehow sustained the effort initiated almost 2-1/2 years ago to address the rising problem of motorcycle-related accidents and fatalities. There were also complementary efforts by both the DPWH (with their TARAS) and DOH (with their ONEIS). Two relatively recent studies related to motorcycle accidents came from the private sector, the outputs of which could help in the structuring of future plans for minimizing this problem.  The first one was published in 2011 by personnel of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the De La Salle University in Manila, while the second one was published in 2012 and performed jointly by doctors of the Departments of Orthopedics of the College of Medicine/PGH, UP Manila, and the East Avenue Medical Center, in Quezon City.

The MMDA initiated the organization of the one day Metro Manila Transport and Traffic Management Summit held on December 2010 where the participants committed support for the legislative and administrative proposals made for improving the transport and traffic system of the metropolis. In line with this, a “Metro Manila Traffic and Transport System Declaration of 2010” was drafted, and which was signed by the MMDA Chairman, together with the Secretaries of the Departments of Transportation and Communication, Public Works and Highways, Environment and Natural Resources, and Health. The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, the NCRPO Director, as well as the Mayors of Quezon City and Marikina City also participated as witnesses to the signing were (www.mmda. gov.ph/news 2010.html).

The said “MMTTS Declaration 2010” contained, among other things 18 proposals to improve traffic and an action program/time table for 2010-2016 divided into three parts, namely, Immediate Term (Jan 2011-Jun 2011), Short Term (Jan 2011-Dec 2012), and Medium Term (Jan 2011-June 2016). Some of the specific proposals geared to minimize motorcycle related accidents and fatalities are: the enactment of a motorcycle safety attire law which would include requiring the wearing of good quality helmets, implementation of the “no helmet, no travel” policy (covered by the LTO AO AHS-2008-015), the limiting of riders to two persons, as well as the automatic lighting of headlights while on the road for maximum visibility.

As mentioned earlier, MMDA somehow sustained their focus on addressing the motorcycle problem as reflected in their release of the 2011 MMARAS Traffic Accident Report (can’t find the 2012 report), the “60 kph speed limit” imposed for the Commonwealth Avenue and Macapagal Avenue sometime in 2011, as well as the installation of the (non-exclusive) blue lanes for motorcycles in Epifanio De Los Santos, Commonwealth and Macapagal Avenues sometime in 2012.

Due to space limitations, the continuation of this article will be featured as part 3 under the same title in my next column. Meanwhile, comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).

Motorcycle safety

27 June 2013

My bumping of a motorcycle at the rear, not too long ago, due to confusing stoplights at the oblique merger of two streets made me appreciate in a deeper sense the dangers that users contend with, and how unprotected they are, even if I was already well aware at that time of how risky most of them drive, and have observed in the past their reckless maneuvers like racing and sudden weaving in and out of lanes, and darting through tight gaps between moving vehicles.

Approaching the said oblique merger, and having glanced at the wrong stoplight (which was green), it was too late when I realized that a motorcycle was in full stop in front of me and hit it. I am just thankful that I was still able to step hard on my brakes that did somehow soften the impact. But still the driver was thrown from his vehicle into the road pavement. Again I’m thankful that he was wearing a full helmet which he strapped (which according to him he doesn’t usually do).

With the help of two traffic officers and some of the injured driver’s workers (who happen to be in their delivery truck in the area and who immediately came to his aid), we were able to bring him to a nearby hospital for treatment. And within a span of about 3-1/2 hours in the hospital’s emergency room and in the x-ray room where he was subjected to 6 shots, the attending doctors must have declared that there was no serious injury to his bones, so in spite of him being still in pain in some parts of his body (right knee and upper part of his chest near his shoulder), he was allowed to go home.

As regards our settlement, the injured motorcycle driver (incidentally also an engineer and who by this time was already accompanied by his mother, who turned out to be a very gracious retired teacher, his father who I understand was formerly a vice-mayor of a major city in Laguna, and a daughter) was good enough to accept my apology and agree to my just paying for the hospital expenses and the repair of his motorcycle. And I’m thankful that the engineer’s injuries were not more serious that it turned out, and that they are not the kind who unreasonably takes advantage of such a situation, unlike some of the stories that I’ve heard from some acquaintances.

As mentioned earlier, the experience made me realize how unprotected the motorcycle drivers are. And since those who resort to investing in and using this vehicle as a means of cutting down on transportation expenses belong mostly to the bulk of our population who are struggling to make both ends meet, I wondered what moves are being made by various entities (e.g. government, motorcycle manufacturers and traders, user groups, etc.) to make the use of the vehicle safer and worthwhile for them.

The first move that I thought of doing is to gather more information about the status of motorcycles and their use in the country, as well as history and details of accidents, since my focus is safety and the mitigation of injury and fatalities. To my disappointment however I could not get the updated information (I initially felt I needed) directly from the website of government agencies that I felt I could get the info from. There are however bits and pieces that can be picked up from news reports and certain studies conducted by government hospitals, schools, and even bloggers who somehow also found interest in doing something to help promote safety for motorcycle users.

So far, what can be established is that as of 2010, there are about 3.48 million motorcycles and tricycles registered in the country. This figure was 3.2 million in 2009 and 2.98 million in 2008, which indicates a growth rate of 7.38% and 8.75% for these vehicles in 2009 and 2010 correspondingly. By assuming just a conservative 8% p.a. growth in 2011 and 2012, my projected population of the said motor vehicles should be no less than 4.06 million by the start of 2013. This growing presence of these vehicles on our roads could further elevate the frequency of motorcycle related accidents and fatalities if no drastic effort is made to enhance its safe use.

Due to space limitations, the continuation of this article will be featured as part 2 under the same title in my next column. Meanwhile, comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).

Light at the end of the “tunnel of poverty”

24 June 2013

The announcement earlier that the quantitative easing move previously adopted by the US Central Bank to stimulate their economy would be relaxed by year-end indicated that interest rates in the US would go up thereby making capital investments there attractive.

This triggered the recent sudden flight of foreign funds, or short term capital, from our equity market and caused the sudden depreciation of the peso from 40 to 43 to a US dollar as well as the Philippine Stock Exchange index to plunge by 12.4%, over a four day period, from 6, 875 on June 10, 2013 to 6, 114 on June 14.

Despite this, however, prominent economists like UP’s Gerry Sicat  (http://www.philstar.com/ business /2013/06/19/955562/recent-macroeconomic-developments-peso-local-stocks-and-us-quantitative) and UA&P’s Victor Abola (http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/06/21/956297/phl-seen-sustain-growth-thrust), as well as two of the country’s top economic managers namely NEDA Director General Arsenio Balicasan and Banco Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco (http://www.philstar.com/business /2013/05/31/948611/news-analysis-economy-grows-7.8-pct-q1-coupled-plunging-stocks-weakening) feel that the country’s economy is still sound, since our currrency’s depreciation and the diving of the PSEi has not altered the economic fundamentals.

This is because the country’s economy has grown on, among other factors, the strength of its manufacturing sector (which accounts for 21% of the GDP), robust domestic consumption, higher government spending particularly on infrastructure, private construction (hotels, commercial buildings and homes), sustained remittance inflows, low inflation (projected to average 2.8% by year end), increasing tourist arrivals (1.6 million from January to April 2013) despite the conflict with China, business confidence as well as consumer optimism.

Some of the economists are also of the thinking that the peso’s depreciation has its positive effects as it would boost the export (expected to grow by 6-8% by year end) as well as BPO (projected to grow 15-20% in the next 5 years) businesses since it will enable them to regain the competitiveness they lost due to earlier appreciation of the peso. It will also boost the purchasing power of the OFW families.

What’s being implied so far is that the claimed economic improvement of the country is real, and with a sound foundation, from which it would get the strength to withstand the current financial turbulence now being experienced worldwide.

Of course it’s also true that despite the bannered remarkable improvement in the country’s GDP last year and this year’s first quarter, benefits have not yet filtered down to the bulk of our population, and I can’t blame our poor countrymen who have somehow expressed their impatience waiting for the hoped for economic relief that would help them address their basic needs as human beings. As reported not too long ago by the NSCB, the poverty incidence in the country as of the first semester of 2012 was 27.9%, or more than a fourth of the population; and that the unemployment rate as of April 2013 was 7.5%, or 2.894 million of the 40.8 million work force (http: //www. philstar.com/headlines/ 2013/03/16/920206/unemployment-rate-unchanged).

It may be difficult for our poor to understand it, but economic progress, or the demolition of poverty cannot be attained in an instant. As mentioned in earlier columns, it took the countries of the first world centuries to do it and the Tiger economies of the last century the equivalent of more or less a generation, that is 20 -30 years . Even our Asean neighbors (i.e. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia) who are currently enjoying prosperity (I understand) started their economic progress since the late 80s more than 20 years ago. And they did it because they were able to tap then the surge of foreign direct investments that drove their economy, an opportunity which I think we missed because of the havoc brought about by the series of failed military coup d’etat at that time.

But there is now light that can be seen at the end of the “tunnel of poverty”, so to speak, because unlike in the 80s, a strong foundation has already been laid to enable us to tap, this time, the next round of foreign investment opportunities that will come our way. I say this because unlike before, we now have the investment grade rating that the country has received from at least three reliable sovereign rating agencies - a credential that should attract the attention of foreign direct investors, especially those that are currently posed to exit China. This achievement of course was made possible by the sound economic fundamentals that probably started to take root during previous administrations but built into the internationally recognized robust economic structure that it now is, through the Tuwid na Daan inspired governance of President Noynoy and his team.

Another factor going for us is that the President, for the last three years of his term, can now expect a more favorable (if not solid) support, particularly from the legislative branch, for his programs geared to eliminate poverty.

One thought that comes to mind at this point is that so far, the President has brought the country to this dawn of an economic renaissance, and he accomplished this during the first half of his term despite the detrimental effects of the booby-traps placed along his governance path during the early years. I would therefore not hesitate, as a citizen, to give my total support to whatever his game plan is for the final half of his term. And I trust that, as it was in his first three years, it would be geared towards intensifying if not institutionalizing the practice of Tuwid na Daan, as well as pursuing with more vigor the elimination of poverty in our country.

But then the President and his team cannot do it just by themselves. Everyone should participate in the effort to achieve these objectives, especially from us ordinary citizen in our own little ways, even if it is just to let the President and others know that we appreciate his efforts, and that we support him and his team.

Comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).

On floods and vehicular gridlocks

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Public Sector Productivity

4 April 2013

A recent development which may be of national significance, and perhaps most of the public is not yet aware of, is the government’s shifting the focus of its productivity improvement effort  from the private sector to that of the public service sector. This I learned from the talk of Development Academy of the Philippines president, Mr. Tony Kalaw, during the General Membership Fellowship of the Philippine Quality and Productivity Movement, Inc., last March 25 at the Metro Club in Makati City.

Our country’s productivity improvement effort was started when the Asian Productivity Organization was formally established in 1961 as a regional intergovernmental organization, and where the Philippines was one of the eight founding members together with China, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand (http://www.apo-tokyo.org/about/history.html). The mission of APO, whose membership has now more than doubled to 20 countries, is “to contribute to the sustainable socioeconomic development of Asia and the Pacific through enhancing productivity.”

Here in our country, productivity improvement has, until very recently, been focused on the private sector. I still remember the frequent interaction, in the 1980s, that the Production Management Association of the Philippines (of which I was a member and later on president) had with the DAP’s Productivity Development Center (the implementing agency of the APO in the Philippines) regarding the promotion of productivity improvement programs in the manufacturing sector. The PROMAP then was just one of about 120 or so Productivity & Quality Organizations that mushroomed in the 1980s which helped channel the APO productivity enhancement programs into the agriculture, industry, labor and service sectors.

The efforts made during the decades long partnership between the APO-DAP/PDC tandem and the private sector, however, failed to deliver the “enhanced productivity” objective that could have brought about a sustained socioeconomic development for the Philippines. This is evident in the fact that from being considered as economically second only to Japan in our region during the 1960s, the country has retrogressed into the region’s economic laggard by the end of the second millennium and continued to be by the end of the previous administration’s term in 2010. During the said period, we saw our nation overtaken by our neighbors (namely Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and even Vietnam) whose citizens experience a much better quality of life because of their improved productivity.  It is said that these countries’ accomplishments is attributable to their success in adopting continuously, productivity and innovative strategies to sustain their growth.

Luckily for the Philippines, the current administration’s “tuwid na daan” advocacy and determined drive against corruption seem to have hit the right chords, which resulted to definite positive changes in governance (acknowledged both locally and internationally) and improvement in the country’s competitive rankings as the administration approached the end of the first half of its term.

However, as commented by Tony Kalaw, “…there is still much to be desired” as we face a major challenge with the impending implementation of the planned ASEAN economic integration. We have to enhance further the country’s competitiveness to be able to avail of our fair share of benefits that can be taken from this ASEAN region’s large market base. And in line with this, what needs to be prioritized, among others, are the following: improving the investment climate, improving our infrastructure, and improving our overall regulatory requirements. Addressing these mentioned priorities involves government action.

Since there are already, as mentioned earlier, 120 or so P&Q Organizations helping the private sector, they no longer need the level of help that DAP used to give them. This would allow DAP to shift their focus to public sector productivity, a recommendation the Philippines made to APO, and which, with the backing of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India, was given the approval and included in APO’s agenda.

Hence, DAP (in coordination with the Office of the President, DBM, CSC, DTI, etc.) has started the program to introduce the time tested productivity tools and techniques to the public sector, i.e., government agencies. In line with this, it is also required now for these agencies to have ISO certification for their Quality Management Systems, as well as a Balanced Score Card based Performance Management System.

With the confidence that the P&Q Organizations would continue to do their part in the private sector’s productivity improvement efforts, DAP-DTI-DBM-CSC will do their part in the government and “…concentrate in improving the delivery services in government as part of the APO’s program for Public Sector Productivity”.

To my mind, progress regarding this program, as based on the private sector’s experience, will not be achieved as fast as we want it. However, I believe the government will never go wrong in starting it and even if the public sector’s adoption of the “time tested productivity tools” may be slow in coming, I see the effort alone as an excellent complement to President PNoy’s “tuwid na daan” and would enhance the effectiveness of his advocacy in speeding up the achievement of the beneficial changes that would ultimately be felt by the Filipinos.

Comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).

Sericulture

10 June 2013

My 12 year old grandson, Mathew, just got back from a ten-day vacation with his maternal grandparents in Bacolod and must have really had a grand time based on the way he excitedly related his experiences there. Aside from enjoying playing bowling, swimming (in Sipalay) and frolicking with his cousins, he also, for the first time experienced playing billiards.

He also had the opportunity to go around almost three fourths of Negros Island by car, together with his his Mamita Baby  and Grandpa George (who drove), bathed in the hot springs, went island hopping, visited Siliman University in Dumaguete City (where his dad studied), and observed the the silk worm farm in Bago City.

With his arrival, of course, came once more the “pasalubongs” (coutesy of our always gracious “balaes”), most of which came from places they visited during their island tour. Being one with a sweet tooth, I enjoyed munching the sweets and native delicacies, but the ones that really captured my interest were the items from the silk worm farm, namely the white cocoon, the organic mulberry tea, and the mulberry jam, which I understand to be products of the Negros Silk Producers Association, Inc. The tea was refreshingly good, the jam delicious, and the silkworm cocoon which is supposed to be an organic cleansing and exfoliating agent (still to be tried by my wife, Mel).

The three items reminded me of one of the projects that the Fiber Industry Development Authority had when I was still connected with the cordage company producing natural fiber ropes. Because of the nature of our operations we had close interactions with FIDA since they were the government agency that regulated our main raw material, abaca fiber, or Manila hemp. My focus on abaca then made me only nominally aware of the sericulture efforts.

Although I was aware at that time that the growing of mulberry plants goes together with the raising of silkworms, my appreciation of the project was only up to that extent. This is why I was surprised to learn that other products, aside from silk filaments, can be generated from a sericulture operation. And these are simple products, which hit me as an activity that could be made into an additional source of income for Filipinos in agricultural areas, like my hometown in Tarlac.

This thought motivated me to do a little paper research on sericulture operations both abroad and here in our country. What I found out is that the worldwide demand for silk is huge, as its use is varied and numerous (e.g. national costumes of Asian nations, consumer items, home furnishings, industrial applications, etc.), and there is a shortage in supply. It turned out that the Philippines imports from South Korea, HK and China as much as 221.6 tons per year (average over 1999-2008) of combined raw silk/silk wastes/yarns which it converts into various cloth products (e.g. pinya-seda cloth for barong tagalog, etc.).  Compared to this figure, the nation’s combined average production capacity of 8.7 tons/year average of combined raw silk/dried cocoons is very low (fida.da.gov.ph/texts_silk/ silkprofile09.rtf).

Considering just the potential of replacing the earlier mentioned imported silk raw materials would necessitate already a 25 fold increase in the Philippines’ production capacity for this type of material. And this alone opens up an opportunity for households in farming communities to tap sericulture, even if just for cocoon production at the start, as an additional source of income through the assistance, possibly, of the FIDA. Additional opportunities from downstream processes (e.g. raw silk, silk yarn and silk cloth production), particularly with respect to the international demand will materialize as the country’s knowledge and skills in sericulture and silk manufacturing matures.

Other income generating opportunities that could come from the sericulture operation could be from the production of tea and jam (from the mulberry), as well as novelty items and home decorations like the simple device for skin cleansing and exfoliating, artificial flowers, leis and corsages, etc.

Incidentally, another benefit that can be derived from the raw silk production (which is the simultaneous extraction of the continuous silk filaments from a number of cocoons while applying a slight twist, and coiling it into a skein) is the generation of a food supplement for the farming household/operator in the form of the silkworm pupae which is edible and considered as a delicacy in India, China, Korea and Vietnam.

Comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).

Unemployment rate (2)