A Bus Accident is All You Need to Know About How Competent your Government is on Everything There is to be Concerned About

There are two kinds of accidents - the controllable and the non-controllable.

The government seems to have a high tolerance for the avoidable accidents, or funnily at that, an inclination for accidents that they feel obliged to resolve only when they happen.

As a kid growing up with full of testosterone, I always felt the urge to always be outside, outdoors where all the risks of injury or sickness reside. There were some bruises, and some cuts, and because I had the testosterone, it did not stop me from getting more, not that I wanted to. But parents unselfishly wish to lock you indoors when your playmates are outside mixing sweat with dirt. They force you to stay inside and deprive you of your right to get injured, though there wasn't really any indication of it happening, or any premonition of it taking place. They just do what they have to do as parents. If it wasn't for that, I would probably be a 31-year old junkie now with half of my limbs and two of my wisdom teeth knocked off.

And then the bus accident.

I will agree - if it weren't for greed, people who died would still be alive now, probably. If it weren't for bus owners not filing registrations, we would probably move on with a boring cliche of what could have, of a near death. I know nothing about profits, but to have 200 buses running 24/7 gives you a ballpark number of how much they were making versus how much it takes to register a bus unit.

But like the Pinoy basura movies I used to watch when I didn't have any idea of what was a good movie, the government delivers the punchlines.

Everything about what the government does is predictable. Or stupid. Or elementary. Or childish. Or uneducated.

Easy. Comedic. Farce.

I find it really funny, but should LTFRB inspections be a regular thing? Shouldn't they be inspecting each company on every regular day when it is boring to do inspections and when public pressure isn't telling them what to do? Prevention is preparing for a disaster when there is none.

It gives the impression that the government is not exerting enough effort and money to do its job. The government is a childish government because it only knows when to stop when the limbs are gone and when blood is already dripping. Kids who get locked inside the house find their lives miserable, but on any given Sunday, I will trade an accident with miserable. By a heartbeat.

When the cat is away, the mouse will own a bus company.

The actions that we see are a bane of a cause.

The blame is not entirely on the government, but should the government feel it is competent enough to serve the people, it should take every blame, because that's what we paid them for, to do the dirty job on our behalf. No one wants to be a politician or a government employee because your private life becomes part of the public. But I am surprised to see that everyone seems wanting to take a government post. Like a fantasy.

Because it's an easy job. It does not have any scorecard.

No qualifications. No entrance exams. No background check.

When you are a product of your father's failed legacy, it gives you an exemption. You automatically win the hearts of the many. You advertise your last name rather than advocate your capabilities. When you are after the pay rather than the cause, it is a failure from the beginning, but no one notices. Erase - everyone notices, but old habits are the hardest to break. Pay a voter 500 pesos and old habits are your qualifications to being a politician.

This is where the problem commences.

It is difficult for a man to understanding something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.

The last one's quoted. But I am always reminded of this whenever I see people getting into government responsibilities without understanding the reason why they have to be there in the first place.

So how does this connect to the bus accident?

Just a while ago, LTFRB initiated a surprise inspection of another bus company in Manila and found out some buses had double plates as well. When Martilyo Gang strikes, ban hammers in malls. When people get trapped in coal mines, implement safety regulations. So when I will steal money from a bank with a banana, and not that I can and should, bananas are history? Funny way of looking at it, but it's one too many funny things about this government.

A bus accident is all you need to know about how competent your government is and how it addresses issues only when they happen.