Our country—I don’t need to tell you—is a nation of scammers. From top to bottom, Filipinos are gifted with the ability to deceive others. In fact, I don’t think we trust each other very much. I mean, where else does a government agency in charge of selling its republic to the rest of the world, use video footage taken in other territories?
Pathetic, despicable, shameful, appalling, contemptible, woeful. Sadly, that’s the place we are doomed to spend the rest of our lives in. Unless, you know, you are fortunate enough to score a working visa in another country and escape.
Motoring is full of such scammers. When the No Contact Apprehension Program was introduced in 2021, many car owners started becoming creative with their license plates so their digits wouldn’t be captured by CCTV cameras. Some covered their plates with stickers, tissue paper, and even face masks. Others just used vanity plates at the back. Anything to avoid being penalized for their traffic violations.
Now that the NCAP is suspended, motorists have found another use for their clever minds. Remember the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act? When it lapsed into law last year, one of its benefits was granting hybrid vehicles exemption from the number-coding scheme. Of course, our resourceful countrymen found a loophole: They insisted that mild-hybrid vehicles should also enjoy the same benefit as a full-hybrid cars.
As you know, mild-hybrid vehicles are not really hybrid cars. First of all, mild hybrids cannot even propel themselves in electric mode. They just have a supplementary battery to enhance its performance and fuel efficiency. Whether the improvement is enough to warrant an exemption from number-coding is up for debate.
But okay, let’s excuse mild hybrids from the weekly coding penalty. Let’s make everybody happy. Specifically, let’s make car brands that offer mild-hybrid products very happy.
You think that would have been the end of it? Hah! Do not underestimate our people’s imagination. As you read this, there are now countless vehicles sporting ‘hybrid’ badges. Yes, even regular ones. This is so their owners/drivers can deceive traffic enforcers that they are exempt from the number-coding. In a nation where most motoring authorities are clueless about cars—which is weird, if you think about it—how difficult would it be to point at a hybrid badge and get away with it?
So don’t be surprised to see Almeras, Civics, Accents, Fortuners, Montero Sports, and Rangers with ‘hybrid’ badges. No, their owners are not stupid. They know exactly what they’re doing. Scammers, yes. But smart scammers.
Love the Philippines—with comma or no comma.
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FILL YOUR TANK: “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” (Colossians 3:9)