Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo’s sudden aversion to modernizing the country’s jeepneys seems to suggest he’s been in a Rip Van Winkle-style hibernation, awakening to a world where vehicular progress is the enemy. 

His comparison of China’s territorial claims to the West Philippine Sea with the introduction of modern jeepneys is as absurd as comparing apples to intergalactic spaceships. While one involves geopolitical aggression, the other is a mere upgrade in the local commute system.

Perhaps Senator Tulfo’s interns should redirect their energy from misplaced analogies to conducting an inventory of Philippine bus companies. They would discover a trove of Chinese-made buses quietly cruising our streets for years, presumably without causing an “invasion” panic. (Golden Dragon, Higer, Wuzhou Dragon Yutong, King Long, Zhengzhou Yutong, Zhongtong)

Senator Tulfo’s selective concern for national sovereignty seems to be in need of a tune-up, preferably in the form of a reality check on the highways of progress.