NOT TOO many people realize that MERALCO was originally an acronym for Manila Electric and Rail Company, meaning that in those days, MERALCO was in the rail car business, powered by the electricity that they were also generating.
Some might argue that the rail cars were not “true” trains, but I will also argue that anything that runs on a railway is a train, no matter what.
Many years later, we were so fascinated by the “modern” LRT (Light Railway Transit) system that was built, not realizing that it is really just a rail car that runs on electricity that is supplied by no other than MERALCO.
On closer look, the LRT system (and now the MRT or Metro Rail Transit) system is very similar to the subway systems running abroad, but we do not call the LRT a subway because it does not run underground.
Actually, the MRT runs underground, but we still do not call it a subway. The good news is, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will finally be modernized with extended rail routes to further destinations.
The bad news is, the system will be shut down while the construction will be going on.
One would wish that the project should have been planned in such a way that the whole system does not have to be shut down completely.
How modern will the new system be? It will probably be faster than its present speed, but we do not hear about magnetic levitation or bullet train technologies being mentioned. Why wait this long to upgrade the old PNR system? Is it because of money?
If it is about money, the government should invite more B-O-T (Build-Operate-Transfer) or PPP (Public-Private Partnership) proponents so that more train systems could be made, including destinations all over the Visayas and Mindanao.
Is it not about time to do that?
LOCALIZED FREE AMBULANCE SERVICES
As it is supposed to be, anyone in the Philippines should be able to dial 911, and a telephone operator should be able to dispatch fire, rescue, ambulance and police (FRAP) units as soon as possible, based on acceptable response times.
I invented the FRAP acronym for easy recall, and I hope it sticks, if there is no other alternative. Unfortunately, due to a mixture of technical and political reasons, the Philippines has not adopted 911 as a national number, because some local government units (LGUs) would rather use their own three-digit numbers such as 117 and 168.
I actually proposed a technical solution to that problem, but it was not adopted either. For whatever it is worth, my solution is to install a call forwarding system that could route all calls to a central operator, regardless of what number is dialed.
It is very sad for me to know that up to now, even if our country is already over one hundred years old, there are still many LGUs that do not have fire trucks. it is therefore not a surprise for me to find out, that there are also many LGUs that do not have free ambulances to dispatch, in case someone in their localities have to be brought to the hospital.
When I was a Director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), I was very surprised to find out that many LGUs would rather wait for a long time to receive a free ambulance donation, instead of buying it on their own, considering that they are already able to buy other service vehicles on their own.
I can understand that they might want to save money, but how much is the value of one life lost, because he or she was not taken to the hospital on time?
I think that aside from the ambulances, the LGUs also need to train and hire Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who are the only ones qualified to man the ambulances.
I think that it is about time for all citizens to demand that there should be ambulances that are ready to transport them, in case of emergencies. But aside from that, the LGUs need to put up their reliable 911 systems that could quickly respond to emergency calls./PN
