Sports car enthusiast Juan Miguel Araneta, the subject of a complaint by his own neighbors for his car’s loud mufflers, said on Tuesday, January 25, he was waiting for his fellow homeowners to reach out to him regarding the supposed problem.
"It's how the car came to me, ingana na gyud siya ug tingog (it sounds like that). And just for them to know, I placed a muffler now, that is now much more quieter than the original, so if I travel around town, and you are on the sidewalk, it's only about less than 70-80 decibels," Araneta said.
Araneta said he was unaware that he was causing a ruckus since he never drove fast and loud while inside the village.
He said he became aware of the problem only last week after receiving a memorandum from the Morning Mist Village homeowners association informing him that they will not be allowing his sports car to enter the subdivision, which was a violation of his rights.
"On Wednesday morning, nagpadala nalang sila ug memo nga ang auto nga dili na makasulod sa village, ako nalang ang pwede, naa pa gyuy persona non-grata daw (They sent me a memo that I can only enter the village but not my car. There was also a persona non-grata), I've been in the morning for 6 years, syempre masuko gyud ta (Of course I'm angry)," Araneta said.
Araneta added that the people wanted to ban his car from entering the village, prompting him to file a case against them in court for damage worth P5 million, if ever the ban pushes through.
Araneta complained why he is being singled out, saying he is not the only one who uses a sports car inside the subdivision and he drives his car only in the morning.
"Makipagstorya sila dapat (They should talk to me), my car is registered, it passed the emission test, pasado gyud na siya, they did not take a sound test, but I welcome them, and I've been checking the city ordinances but wala may about sa noise so wala ko kabalo sa violation (there was none about the noise so I didn't know about my violation)," Araneta added.
Land Transportation Office-Northern Mindanao regional director Oscar Salcedo had earlier said that altering car mufflers is illegal.
But Araneta said that if this was illegal, mufflers should not be sold around the city.
Arthur Aranas, meanwhile, a Morning Mist homeowner, said they received a word that Araneta will be changing the mufflers in his car and noticed that Araneta is now driving slowly.
"As of now, wala gyud mi proof nga nag-change na siya ug muffler kay verbal raman to nga saad. Hinuon, hinay naman siya ug padagan karon, dili na siguro niya tumban ang muffler (We have no proof that he changed his muffler because it was a verbal promise. Right now, he drives slowly. Maybe he's not stepping on the muffler)," he said.
Aranas said the concern with Araneta is that when he drives around the village in the morning, his neighbors usually complain at the sound his car made.
The village’s homeowners conducted a picket Monday morning, January 23, outside the village gates to show Araneta their displeasure.
"Daghan naman gareklamo sa iya sa Pueblo area, naay pending notices, daghan nami ni stand up sa iyaha (Many are complaining about him in the Pueblo area. There were pending notices and many of us stood up against him). The rally was not for him, but for every noisy vehicle disturbing our peace," Aranas said.
