A devil's vehicles

"We are in a world that is quite extremist and extremism makes more noise. Normality does not sell."
--Vicente del Bosque

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- We congratulate the Iloilo City Council in the Philippines for putting an end to the abuses of motor vehicle owners who used modified mufflers that caused terrible noise, inconvenience, and irritation without any concern to the public.
Irked pedestrians and observers referred to vehicles using modified mufflers as "a devil's vehicles" and wished they disappeared in the roads soon.
It was learned that if the muffler had a hole, it could cause dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide to leak into the cabin of a vehicle.
The colorless, odorless gas was reportedly a product of the combustion process.
Back in 2013, based on a personal experience, I've noticed while staying outside a big mall in La Paz district, Iloilo City, where a large number of vehicles using modified mufflers passed by, that mild exposure to carbon monoxide could give me headaches, dizziness, and nausea.

EXPOSURE

In fact, health authorities have warned that a prolonged carbon monoxide exposure can lead to unconsciousness and death.
Kudos to the local legislature for recently passing an ordinance penned by Councilor Joshua Alim seeking to prohibit the “Selling and Using of Modified Mufflers of Public and Private Motor Vehicles in Iloilo City and Providing Penalties Thereof”.
Before Alim's ordinance was passed, many homeowners' associations, cities, restaurants, and apartment complexes in other cities have adopted laws against loud noises from defective mufflers.
Those who used a broken muffler faced fines or refusal of service until they got the muffler fixed. A damaged muffler can reportedly cause a car trip to be noisy and uncomfortable.

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We first heard of the "Sleeping with the enemy" in 1991 as the title of a psychological thriller movie starred by Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin and directed by Joseph Ruben.
It was based on a novel of the same name by Nancy Price.
Roberts played a woman who escaped from her sadistic husband, from Cape Cod to Cedar Falls in Iowa, where she captured the attention of a kindly college drama teacher.
In the 1992 Philippine presidential elections, the late former House Speaker Ramon Mitra accused some of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) members who supported the candidacy of Lakas bet Fidel V. Ramos of "sleeping with the enemy".
Those who "cavorted" with FVR had earlier voted for Mitra to be the LDP's official standard bearer. FVR formed the Lakas, which later became a Lakas-NUCD, when he lost to Mitra in the party convention.
"Sleeping with the enemy" became a byword once again when Police Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza and suspected Abu Sayyaf member Renierlo Dongon were arrested in a checkpoint in Bohol recently.
They were reportedly trying to provide assistance to the remaining Abu members trapped in the province after being waylaid by government troopers when they sneaked in before the Holy Week.
Nobleza compromised her duties and responsibilities and loyalty to the country because of her love for the younger suspected terrorist.
Truly love conquers all.