IF you are a regular commuter like me, you probably have noticed how differently drivers of public utility vehicles behave when they are in Manila and in Makati.

Take the smoking ban, for instance. Drivers who do not go beyond Manila?like those plying the San Andres Bukid-Malate route?puff away without fear that they will be slapped with a violation.

Those who travel between Makati and Manila (like drivers going to and from Guadalupe) would light a cigarette when they pass the Makati boundary or throw it away when they leave Manila. Even taxi drivers smoke when they are in Manila and their cabs are empty.

Taxi drivers would also have their seatbelts on when they are in Makati and off when they are in Manila. I have been in cabs where drivers will stop at a Makati intersection when the traffic light is red, even if it is midnight or early morning, but will not hesitate to enter a one-way street from the wrong end in Manila late at night if I let them.

My question is, why can Makati enforce regulations and Manila cannot? I do not think it is a matter of Makati?s traffic enforcers being more honest than Manila?s. Drivers have complained about harassment from both Makati and Manila?s traffic enforcers (although one taxi driver said drivers were more likely to be harassed by policemen in Manila over imagined violations than in any other city, except Caloocan).

Are Manila traffic people more lenient that drivers can ignore them completely, while they ?behave? on Makati roads? Perhaps that is why, although left turns are not supposed to be allowed at the intersection of San Andres and President Osmeña, vehicles turn every which way that they seem to be playing a game of bumper cars.

?Mental colony?

While we are on the subject of traffic aides, I want to ask Mayor Jejomar Binay to arrange seminars for Makati?s traffic aides so they can shed their colonial mentality or, in Filipino slang, ?mental colony.?

A few weeks ago, I was standing in line at the taxi stand in front of the SM Department Store in Makati, together with other brown-skinned Filipinos, when this fair-skinned woman emerged from the store. I don?t know if she was a foreigner or just a Filipino mestiza. Whatever she was, her fair skin was enough to have one traffic aide almost bowing reverentially, hailing a cab for her while dark-skinned Pinoys patiently waited in line.

With this traffic aide, even Binay would have to stand in line and wait like the rest of us if he is not mayor. Unfortunately, despite my efforts I could not read the aide?s name tag.

Kudos

I was at Robinsons Galleria last Saturday to watch the 3-D movie ?Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs? (If you have not seen a 3-D movie or have not done so in a while, it is time to enjoy this wonderful experience. ?Ice Age? is a good film to get introduced or reintroduced to the technology that has gone digital because the movie is fun and light so you can fully savor 3-D without scary, almost life-like monsters threatening to give you a heart attack every 10 minutes or so).

Aside from enjoying the movie, I was glad to see the Galleria management has made significant improvements in their restrooms. It has also made sure people using the restrooms ?behaved? by marking the spot where they should form a line so they do not stand in front of cubicles like they are marking their territories.

Of course, there are still people who either need refresher courses in good manners or just cannot read and will completely ignore the signs if others who stand in line, like they should, let them.

Galleria has also put the hook on which women can hang their purses at a lower spot on the cubicle door where it cannot be reached from outside and owners can keep an eye on their belongings as they do their thing. There have been several reports of women losing their bags to thieves who reach over the door and grab purses while the owners are distracted.

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.