Manila urged to act on 'killer highway'

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Quezon City councilors are urging the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to address the unabated road accidents along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

The highway, already infamous for high accident rates, has been the subject of increased monitoring after a taxi-bus collision killed veteran journalist and UP professor Chit Estella on May 13.

In a draft resolution, Councilors Roderick M. Paulate and Raquel S. Malangen urged MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino to install closed-circuit television cameras, additional street lamps and reflectorized traffic signs along Commonwealth.

"Most of said accidents happen during night time due to the inadequacy of street lamps and reflectorized traffic signs," such that drivers fail "to notice the accident-prone areas in Commonwealth Avenue," they pointed out.

Installing "precautionary measures" could lead to catching traffic violators and minimizing road accidents along the highway, they said.

Another resolution authored by Councilor Precious Hipolito Castelo urged the MMDA "to strictly implement the yellow lane policy" or to allot "the two outermost lanes ... for buses plying Commonwealth Avenue for road safety."

Pinoys on Twitter react to Starbucks 'no smoking' campaign

As far as Starbucks is concerned, cigarettes and coffee don't go well together anymore.

In a recent notice posted in Starbucks stores nationwide, the company said that it is converting "all previously designated smoking outdoor areas" into non-smoking zones beginning June 27.

The controversial move, which was met with mixed reactions by users of social networking site Twitter where the story first broke, is meant to comply with a recent campaign by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

"Since there is a new enforcement campaign that seeks to make Metro Manila 100% smoke-free, we decided to comply with the rule," an official of Rustan Coffee Corporation (RCC), the local operator of Starbucks, told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

Asked if the move -seen to alienate smokers from patronizing the company's products- will negatively affect their sales, the official said: "Hopefully not."

This early, however, Twitter users are threatening to leave their usual Starbucks habit in favor of other coffee brands because of the company's move.

"Is this true, All Starbucks outlets will be NON-SMOKING starting June 27???? Goddluck sa customers nyo," Twitter user @jay_matti cautioned.

"no smoking in starbucks? hello coffee bean!" @briansales quipped.

One Tumblr conversation between friends jokingly went: "Well, that's the last time I'm taking my business to Starbucks then. What the *** am I supposed to do in Starbucks? Drink coffee???"

The RCC official, who asked not to be named, said they will put up signages around the stores to remind customers about the new policy.

But what if customers still insist on smoking in the outdoor areas of the store? "We leave the enforcement to the MMDA. As an establishment we just wanted to comply with the law," the official stressed.

Here are some of the reactions of Pinoy Twitter users regarding Starbucks' new policy:

[View the story "Starbucks Ends Smoking in Coffee Shops" on Storify]

- TJD, GMA News