“We are in a world that is quite extremist and extremism makes more noise. Normality does not sell.” –Vicente del Bosque
We congratulate the Iloilo City Council for putting an end to abusive motor vehicle owners who modify their mufflers in order to cause terrible noise, inconveniences, and irritation.
Pedestrians and observers have referred to modified mufflers as “the devil’s vehicles” and wanted them off the roads.
Exposure
If a muffler has a hole in it, it could possibly leak carbon monoxide, a product of the combustion process, into the cabin of the vehicle. Based on personal experience, while outside a mall in La Paz, Iloilo City in 2013, encountered a large number of vehicles with modified mufflers and that mild exposure to carbon monoxide could have caused headaches, dizziness, and nausea.
Health authorities have long warned about the prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide, saying it could lead to unconsciousness and death.
Kudos
Credit is due to the local legislature for passing the City Councilor Joshua Alim-penned ordinance, which explicitly prohibits the sale and use of modified mufflers for public and private use in Iloilo City.
Before the ordinance, many homeowners’ associations, cities, restaurants, and apartment complexes in other cities already adopted laws against loud mufflers.
Those caught using such modifications face fines or a refusal of service until they are equipped with a proper muffler.
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We first heard of “Sleeping With The Enemy” as the title of a 1991 psychological thriller, starring Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin, and based on a novel by Nancy Price,
Roberts plays a woman who escaped from a sadistic husband and, later, captured the attention of a college drama teacher.
In the 1992 Philippine presidential elections, the late former House Speaker Ramon Mitra accused members of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) who supported the candidacy of Lakas-backed Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) as “sleeping with the enemy.”
Those who “cavorted” with FVR had earlier voted for Mitra as the LDP standard bearer.
FVR formed Lakas, which later became Lakas-NUCD, when he lost to Mitra in the party convention.
“Sleeping with the enemy” became a catchphrase again when Police Superintendent Maria Cristina Nobleza and suspected Abu Sayyaf member Renierlo Dongon were arrested at a checkpoint in Bohol, recently.
They were reportedly trying to provide assistance to the remaining Abu Sayyaf members trapped in the province after being waylaid by government troopers when they snuck in before Holy Week.
Nobleza compromised her duties and responsibilities and loyalty to the country because of her love for the younger suspected terrorist.
Truly love conquers all./WDJ