"You Can Buy a Car. You Can’t Buy Back a Minute."

 "You Can Buy a Car. You Can’t Buy Back a Minute."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Recently, a viral video showed a fire truck hitting a black car that had been double-parked on a narrow street while the truck was responding to a fire.

While many people focused on the fire truck hitting the car, there was much more to see in the longer video. It showed how several streets in Makati—streets that should serve as alternative routes when the main roads are congested—have effectively been taken over by double-parked vehicles.

And it wasn’t just cars. Motorcycles, e-bikes, food carts, and even a barangay tent were occupying valuable road space. As the fire trucks tried to pass, these obstructions slowed them down while they were responding to an emergency.

Reports indicated that the fire trucks arrived at the scene within a minute. I can already imagine people arguing online that the parked vehicles did not really delay them or that the delay was insignificant.

But consider this:

How long does it take for a fire to grow hot enough to consume more of an enclosed structure? How long before it reaches a gasul tank and causes an explosion? What if your loved ones were trapped inside that burning building—and that lost minute could have made the difference between life and death?

People get angry when their cars are towed. They shout at enforcers during clearing operations. Even worse, there are barangays where residents treat public streets as their personal parking spaces.

I do not know how local authorities deal with these situations, but something clearly needs to be done.

People buy cars without making sure they have proper parking spaces. Instead, they say:

“Puwede na sa tapat ’yan.”

“Wala naman dumadaan dito masyado.”

“Linggo naman.”

“Weekend naman.”

Until the road is suddenly needed for an emergency—and everyone is forced to watch as the people trying to save lives struggle to get through.

A road is not merely a place to leave your vehicle. It is a passageway for ambulances, police cars, rescue teams, and fire trucks. It may be the only route available to someone whose life is in danger.

So, please, think twice before blocking it.

You can buy a car. You can replace a damaged vehicle. You can pay for towing.

But you cannot buy back a minute that might have saved someone’s life.

And I sincerely hope that when the time comes, none of the people who insist on blocking these roads will ever need saving themselves—because no one can blame the firefighters for failing to reach a fire that they were prevented from accessing in the first place.