Green Lanterns, Smog Man, Sonic Boom

The recently announced reshuffle at the Department of Transportation, specifically at the Land Transportation Office, gives hope as well as some misgiving.

- CITO BELTRAN

Hope because the transfer of former LTO chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza to head the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is a better match for a lawyer. In the meantime, the posting of Markus Lacanilao as new LTO chairman places a very knowledgeable man on the job.

My misgivings about the reshuffle has to do with the why. Under many administrations, appointments and reshuffles done during the midterm has always been met with doubt and suspicion.

Time and again, the move is suspected as intended for “fund raising” for the next election or to generate “retirement funds” for outgoing administration officials. It has happened in the past and under the current tsunami of corruption, suspicions are justified.

We should nonetheless give the appointees the benefit of the doubt and the chance to implement real changes and improve the services, particularly of the DOTr and its agencies. From recent new reports, acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni “Banoy” Z. Lopez is trying to do exactly that.

Believing that the wheel that squeaks the most gets the oil, I humbly request Lopez, Lacanilao and Mendoza to consider the following observations in public roads for the sake of public safety, peace and order.

If you drive late afternoon or evening, there is a possibility that you have been misled into thinking there is a traffic light several cars ahead because of “Green Lanterns.”