Tapang on track

“THERE ARE existing national and local laws and even executive orders on anti-overloading, but do these really solve the problems and issues hounding the industry? It is imperative that we, in the sangguniang panlalawigan should come up with a legislation that will truly regulate the quarry industry in this province, which eventually will redound to the benefit of our constituencies.”

Thus premised the Honorable Michael Tapang, 2^nd district board member, his proposed ordinance “regulating the hauling and transporting of sand, gravel and other quarry materials within the Province of Pampanga through any motor vehicle and for other purposes.”

Tapang lamented “the scourges of overloading and the unabated damage on provincial roads (that) increase the Capitol’s expenses in road repairs and maintenance” which could better be earmarked for social services.

Tapang knows whereof he speaks. As a matter of course, he is in the best position – among all Pampanga legislators – to take the issue hammer and tongs, as indeed he has done not so long ago when he was yet to enter politics.

Aye, here’s not just a throwback but a re-happening of January 2009, right in this corner, under the head Money matters, to wit:    

THERE IS more than what one reads in the papers on the protest of truckers against the implementation of Ordinance 261.
O-261 aims to regulate the hauling and transport of quarry-derived materials within Pampanga with a strict proviso on the truck size and load volume.
O-261 was principally authored by Senior Board Member Cris Garbo but crafted with the inputs of various stakeholders not the least of which is the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon which first raised the need to definitively put a stop to overloaded trucks that have been a curse to motorists and the principal destroyers of roads and highways.
In his sponsoring speech, Garbo emphasized O-261 “will prevent the deterioration and destruction of roads, bridges and highways and the recurrence of vehicular accidents that result to loss of lives and properties.”
These protesting truckers in effect are howling against the rightful regulations to check on their abuses. Damned, these truckers have no right even just to murmur against O-261, having long been violating, with so much impunity, the Anti-Overloading Law. They should even be thankful the Land Transportation Office and the local police have not exacted the full measure of the law upon them. Or have they, the exaction coming in some other form – yellower, bluer and with more graphics than a traffic violation ticket?
Selfish motives, to be kind about it, are easily gauged among the truckers based on our above arguments. Then, there is still even worse.
The purported umbrella organization of these mostly sand and gravel haulers – the Federation of Pampanga Truckers, Inc. (FPTI) – reportedly sacked its own president, one Mike Tapang, for his alleged “individual judgment that is self-serving and of personal interest.”
The redundancies there clear indication of how much contempt those who ousted Tapang had for him.
Tapang, it was said, tried to bludgeon the FPTI with an “unrelenting proposal for an outside management and consultancy company to manage the whole operations and all the affairs of the federation.”
That company they identified as one Suretrux Management and Consultancy (SMC).
Cries the FPTI board: “We will not agree to the demands of the management company for fees that we found to be unreasonable beyond logical proportion and without any accounting records for such an undertaking.”
Redundancies there again. Guys, where did you learn your syntax?
The FPTI board’s coup de grace: “This federation do hereby condemned (sic) this individual judgment of Tapang...for such an act that is unbecoming of an officer especially being president and the lost (sic) of trust of its (sic) capacity to lead the federation objectively and without prejudice, we do hereby demand the concurrent (sic) president to turn over all of its (sic) duties and current affairs to the officers and board of trustees. Furthermore, we demand the President’s irrevocable letter of resignation effective immediately.”
More than a management and consultancy company, the FPTI needs a good English grammar teacher.
That aside, we can see clearly a power play in the FPTI.
So what has this Tapang to hurl back?
“There was no MOA or such other documents signed to finally use the services of the SMC. I was just bringing up an idea or plan as an officer of the federation. That is not enough ground to oust me for loss of confidence as cited in their decision,” so was he quoted as saying…

TAPANG could have just as easily dismissed all of the charges against him with a counter-charge of linguicide.  

O-261 was of course repealed by Ordinance 362.

We wrote in another piece then “the nullity of such a ‘perfect law’ as (0-261), constrained by the imperfections impacted in its implementing rules and regulations, notably the “cutting” of trucks to prevent them from overloading. Crafted by a task force created by Gov. Eddie T. Panlilio, the IRR were never intentioned in the ordinance, the sangguniang panlalawigan declared.
The IRR destroyed the spirit of Ordinance 261, so held Vice Gov. Yeng Guiao. Hence, the imperative of its termination.

And whence exploded a protracted legal war between Panlilio and the SP, that lasted to this day – or has the court ruled on the legality of 0-362?

Anyways, the Aquarian Age obtaining at the Capitol today, read: harmony and understanding, sympathy and love abounding, augurs well for a definitive legislation on the transport of quarried materials in Pampanga.

And then, of course, there’s Mike Tapang.