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THAT
curfew imposed after the Manila Peninsula Hotel siege
was ill-advised and smacks of ignorance of the people’s
right to freedom of movement.
I made
rounds of the city a few hours before the 12-midnight
deadline of the curfew. The sudden implementation caught
many by surprise. In fact, many, especially those who
were working from morning to evening and unaware of what
was going on, didn’t even know about the curfew.
Thousands were stranded and waiting in long lines for
transportation in various major malls in the metropolis.
Getting home before the curfew was the priority of many
motorists and passengers. The result was bedlam on the
streets as vehicles dangerously tried to beat red lights
at intersections. Pedestrians precariously walked the
slim sidewalks or on the streets as vehicles whizzed
dangerously by.
Several
hundreds were arrested and detained in various police
stations for violating the curfew. They were released
without any charges.
What did
we achieve from all this? Nothing but chaos and cursing
from people and business establishments that were
affected by the implementation of the silly curfew. I
hope the administration and its advisers think of better
ideas to implement next time there is an emergency.
THE
energetic Elilzabeth Lee, executive vice president of
Universal Motors Corp. and current president of the
Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines
Inc., revealed that they had already “found the cure for
the common truck” as they launched the Nissan Frontier
Navara in a powerful presentation on Monday at the
Shangri-La Makati.
“No
holds barred. No limits. No detail overlooked in
creating these new commanding and aggressive breed of
trucks, with the most power, highest torque, more room,
first with a six-speed transmission, the only truck with
an eight-cross member frame and large spacious cabin
that could give some SUVs a run for their money. The
all-new Nissan Frontier Navara breaks the norm and sets
the new standard,” said Lee.
The
Frontier Navara 4x2 with six-speed manual transmission
goes for P1.026 million, while the 4x2 with five-speed
automatic transmission is P1.076 million, the Navara 4x4
with six-speed manual transmission is P1.339 million,
and the 4x4 with five-speed automatic transmission is at
P1.389 million.
KIA
Motors Corp. wrapped up its quarterly golf tournament
with a bang on Saturday at the elevated East Ridge Golf
& Country Club in Rizal.
Kia
Motor Corp.’s Felix Mabilog was very accommodating with
the two media golfer-guests (Ron de los Reyes and I) who
enjoyed the more than three-hour game in the scenic
greens of
East Ridge.
“This
golfing tournament started some 10 years ago on a
monthly basis. In fact, we called ourselves as
hampas-lupa then with the executives and managers of
the office and our suppliers and assemblers as
participants. It evolved into a quarterly tournament and
up to these days, we are still playing in various golf
clubs in the country,” said Boss Felix during lunch.
The
final-leg champ was Korean manager Chang Cho, who netted
an 84, while the first runner-up was Bobby Rosales,
second runner-up was Boy Co and third runner-up was
Diego Alvarez. Adjudged the overall winner was Rosales,
who copped two leg championships this year. Among those
who were present that day were Mike Mabilog (Boss
Felix’s son who was featured in our magazine some weeks
back), Eric Arpilleda (who served as the tournament
coordinator), Co, Boy Mendoza, Palawan Rep. Antonio
Alvarez and his son Iggy, Eddie Collado, Efren Visda,
Rommel Lu, Rosales and Ating Dee.
Brief
stop Motolite’s maintenance-free battery with the
patented EGX Technology has been chosen as the battery
for the 2008 Toyota Vios and Ford Focus. Motolite’s
product offers maximum convenience and proven
reliability even under the most extreme driving
conditions. They are manufactured by Philippine
Batteries Inc., the largest manufacturer, exporter and
distributor of automotive, motorcycle, and industrial
battery products and solutions in the
Philippines….Robert
Bosch Inc.’s held its Bosch Media Kart Enduro II on
Thursday at the City Kart Racing circuit in Sucat,
Parañaque. The event is a yearly motorsports event
hosted by the company’s Automotive Aftermarket Division,
Philippine flagship of Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany)…. The
third and final leg of the 2007 Honda Media comes to a
close this Saturday at the FTI Complex in Taguig City.
Designed as an autokhana, combining the autocross and
gymkhana motorsport disciplines, the format emphasizes
driver skill and vehicle handling, combining both speed
and precision driving. Leading the team category is Top
Gear Magazine (60 points), followed by BusinessMirror
(51 points). Teams AutoReview and Autoindustriya are
both tied for third place with 45 points each. |
