BEYOND OBLIVION

By Aquiles Z. Zonio

BACK WITH RENEWED FERVOR & VIGOR

IT has been a while since my last article came out in this paper. Due to health reasons, I decided to hibernate from writing. Albeit, once in a while, I wrote news mostly on sports which came out in several national and international publications.

For almost two years, I focused on improving my health. I went back to my old routine – regular workout – to regain my health and fitness.

The then burly 78 kilos of muscle mass was reduced to 66-kilo slimmer, yet still muscular, physique. I feel much better and younger, modesty aside, now.

Indeed, there’s truth to the saying, “Once a writer will always be a writer.”

I miss what I was doing. In fact, my plan was to focus on writing – more on feature and opinion articles – upon retirement.

And so, I hope to find a serene and secluded place – away from the humdrum, cacophony and drudgery of a city life – where I can spend the remaining years of my life doing what I love the most – WRITING!

My ideal place in mind is a quiet and distant mountain hideaway that would also serve, hopefully, as a refuge for an injured soul, a sanctuary for the broken-hearted and a new stomping ground for the unloved and the unwanted.

Based on my personal experience, writing shakes off everything – stress, pain, sorrow, disappointments, etc.

I knew, however, that the real purpose of writing is not merely to inform or to express one’s feeling and opinion, but, more so, to keep the society and civilization from decadence and self-destruction.

As one Russian author had once said, “A journalist of spirit is a desideratum in social revolution.”

So, here I am, back with renewed fervor and vigor.

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I have observed that traffic congestion in General Santos City is getting worse. To my mind, the problem lies on the lack of self-discipline, lack of road courtesy and lack of respect for the rule of law particularly by the tricycle drivers.

This is exacerbated by the lack of political will on the part of the local leadership.

Mayor Ronnel Rivera should neither waver nor dilly-dally in addressing the pestering traffic woes bugging the city and its residents.

You’ve got balls, mayor? Prove to us. I challenge you to get rid of tricycles plying even the national highway and the city’s central business district.

As far as I know, the city government had already crafted its own progressive transport plan as early as 2012 to ease traffic jam in the city.

This was never implemented because, as far as I can remember, Rivera made a promise to the tricycle drivers to ditch the planned phase out of tricycles in the city’s central business district once he is elected.

Rivera won the hotly contested mayoral race in 2013. True to his words, upon his assumption into office, he jettisoned the planned phase out of tricycles in the city.

Rivera’s term is coming to end, but there’s no clear solution in sight as far as problem on traffic congestion is concerned.

Mayor, thank you for your “legacy” of vexing, niggling and gnawing traffic jam to the city residents.