This place is locally known as Eskina Macaraya, named after Felipe Macaraya who owned the big house right at the corner of this road to the mountains of Cadulawan... Officially, and known only by a few oldtimers, the road is supposed to be named E. Geonzon Street, but nobody ever calls it that...The place has been known for other names such as, Eskina ila Tirso, after Tirso Unabia who lived and owned an electronics shop on the other side of the street opposite Felipe Macaraya's house. Eskina sa Patsa, after the name of a local teeenage gang who used to hang around the short riprapped fence sorrounding Noy Tirso's Shop. There was even an attempt by the gang to christened the place Yarok Eskina. Yarok, meaning gulp, because of the group's penchant for drinking... But the name Macaraya stuck, even until now when Noy Felipe is long time gone and his house is already owned by someone else. Noy Tirso is gone too. The Patsa boys have all grown up to becaome grandfathers.
This used to be a quite and peaceful place, except when the local boys got drunk, but the people in the neighborhood did'nt seem to mind, after all they knew who those kids were - their own children and the children of their neighbors !...
Nowadays, no local boys hang around the street corner anymore, the place has become a terminal of sorts for habal-habal motorcycles. We, the old residents of the place, Patsa members or not, have become strangers in our own street. The habal-habal drivers don't even know who we are. They don't seem to mind if we are the descendants of the owners of the parcels of land donated to make this street possible.
Crimes are being commited here. Crimes unheard of in the past such as snatching, robbery, swindling are happening in this once peaceful place....Al of them committed by motorcycle-riding men.
What do the habal-habal drivers think all these?..Do they mind ?
Who are these drivers anyway? Why is the local gevernment allowing them to roam our streets?...And this thing is supposed to be illegal ?
No comments:
Post a Comment