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ONE of
the things I missed during my recent visit to
Australia’s Gold Coast was the annual Wintersun Festival
where more than 1,500 classic cars were shown and
reportedly auctioned.
It was
held in Coolangatta where I disembarked after coming
from Sydney. I was immediately fetched by a Magic
Millions car and was bought to my designated room in
Genesis Apartment at Surfer’s Paradise. Because of the
hectic schedule at the Magic Millions National Sales, I
was unable to sneak out and look for Barry McNamara, the
organizer of the event, whom I earlier contacted by
e-mail.
I was
able to follow the festival through the dailies
(including an Elvis Presley event, which Manny Santos
really missed, huh!), including the one about three
classic cars which were stolen by high-class thieves—two
are still missing while one was stripped of its
important parts and cut into three pieces before it was
burned.
The
burned car, a 1973 wild plum XA GT Ford replica coupe
owned by a certain Rob Hohnke worth A$100,000 (P4.5
million), was dumped at Jacobs Well, 10 days after it
was reported missing. The other two were a $55,000 (P2.5
million) 1970 HT GTS Verdoro green and gold-striped
Holden Monaro (rego PHT-253) belonging to Glen and
Laurie Hamilton, of Rockhampton, and a 1971 zircon green
XY GT Ford Falcon (RA-351) valued at about $300,000
(P13.5 million) and owned by Robert and Leslie Anderson
of Narrabri in NSW.
In
Australia, classic Fords and Holdens are prized by
collectors and fetch record prices. Last year alone, a
1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III set the benchmark with a
price of $750,000. That’s something like P33.7 million!
It’s no wonder that classic car theft is on the rise in
the Gold Coast.
SEÑOR
Arnel Doria has assumed the full-time position of
general manager of the newly built Honda Safety Driving
Center (HSDC) in Parañaque City.
He
formally stepped down as the vice president for
marketing of Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) on
Monday to assume his new responsibilities.
HSDC was
established on March 20, 2007, through the initial
donations from Asian Honda Motor, Honda Philippines Inc.
and HCPI “to champion the corporate direction to promote
safety driving to the Filipino road users.” The HSDC
training facility was formally inaugurated on April 9
and was opened to the public on May 2.
“I am
extending my invitation to join us in a common effort to
improve traffic discipline and help reduce road
accidents,” Doria said in his recent e-mail.
****
ASIDE
from Holy Week, the only time you see the streets of
Manila almost deserted in broad daylight is whenever the
“Pambansang Kamao” Manny Pacquiao has a scheduled fight.
Busy
streets are suddenly cleared of traffic. Jeepneys and
tricycles that clog every street corner are gone as
their drivers are busy watching television. Even traffic
enforcers and policemen are nowhere to be seen.
Cruising
is traffic-free until the delayed airing of the fight is
finished. By the time the cars are back on the streets,
drivers and occupants are wearing happy faces—a sign
that Manny Pacquiao won. That’s how much this phenomenal
boxer affects the lives of Filipino motorists.
****
THANKS
to the card-production technology introduced by Mega
Data Corp. and Amalgamated Motors of the Philippines
Inc. (Ampi) in 1992, the Land Transportation Office (LTO)
now processes the application for drivers’ licenses in a
fast and almost foolproof manner.
Through
the multifunctional and highly convenient Ampi-Mega
printing technology, the LTO has successfully
decentralized its nationwide drivers’ license processing
operations. The LTO also introduced several one-stop
license renewal kiosks all over the country. These
kiosks are strategically located in commercial centers
and shopping malls and are very easily accessible to
more than three million out of the 12 million drivers
who renew their licenses annually.
****
I REALLY
hated waking up last weekend to find out that the price
of unleaded gasoline was just a few centavos away from
P60 a liter.
It was a
nightmare that had come true.
A rise
in the price of oil forces many producers to jack up
their prices. Higher oil prices means higher prices on
everything else, which means higher VAT and higher
income for the government. It’s an equation that boggles
the minds of the poor and the needy.
I think
the government should consider lifting the VAT on oil
and its byproducts in order to alleviate the misery of
not only the motorists but also 70 percent of the
nation’s population who are living in poverty.
By
simply taking away the VAT on oil, motorists will save
around P6 to P7 per liter, which would also translate to
the lowering of food prices. The government can easily
do it by simply asking the Congress to amend the law on
VAT on oil products. That can be done in a day or two if
they really want to alleviate the suffering of our
countrymen. |
