Lately I have observed cars with a second set of license plates, you know, the commemorative stuff. I remember masonic anniversary plates but the masons outgrew that puerility. Others continued to commemorate this or that. But since these plates never got you off hook for traffic violations, the practice died. Organizations stopped asking the LTO permission to hang another set of plates above the regular ones that show you are current on your license fee.

The practice died early. Under Cory, people were too embarrassed to show off more than the usual plates under a president who drove around in a Toyota. Under FVR, the same, ditto under Erap. By the time of GMA even no. 8 license plates for congressmen were self-banned for being the objects of vilification. I put my no. 8s on a vehicle i did not use so if anyone wanted to kill me, they would kill my gardener on his way to buy fertilizer.

I thought under daan matuwid any plates other than the regular ones would be a thing of the past. But they are back with a vengeance. Cars with NBI or PNP 111 plates proliferate.

111 years ago the Philippine Constabulary was to suppress Filipino dissent. A role it played in the Commonwealth and under the Japanese and in the old and of course in the new republic when the PC swallowed the local police forces. But we abolished the PC-INP after Edsa and settled for just one PNP 26 years ago. So what's with the 111?

I thought no more wang-wang. Instead we got ka-way or ugly men waving cars aside with their arms as VIPs speed past same thing as wang-wang but soundless.

If we can't do this one right, what hope do we have of getting anything right at all.

Keep well.