Are you really disabled?!!

We went to SM Mall of Asia last night for some minor grocery shopping and to get N some sleeveless tops to help her cope with the hot weather. We were lucky enough to get a parking space which was relatively near the mall entrance. On our way to the elevators, I noticed a car driving straight into the disabled parking slot and immediately parking there. The driver and passenger alighted (a couple from the office, by the looks of their uniform) and NEITHER OF THEM WAS DISABLED! I think there about 5 allotted disabled parking slots and there was only 1 space left. This made me think whether that couple intentionally knew they were parking at a disabled slot, didn't care, or thought.. "hey, the security guard isn't there to warn us off, so let's park immediately and hurry into the mall!". I wanted to wait for them in the elevator and comment to S, "grabe noh, puno yun disabled slots, madami siguro disabled nasa mall ngayon." Are we really that undisciplined that we will intentionally park in a disabled slot, just because there's no security guard to tell us off, even if there's a huge painting of a wheelchair right on the parking slot?!! In other countries, parking at a disabled slot without a disabled tag hanging on your rearview mirror will result in a fine as high as $500.00! I don't know if our own LTO even issues disabled parking tags or stickers.

Anyway, in the elevator again, on our way home, we encountered a family of about 8 people who were trying to squeeze into the elevator at the 2nd level (S and I took the elevator at the 1st level and the parking level was at the 3rd level). The elevator had started beeping (max weight reached) but this group just didn't want to budge. Eventually, 2 of them left the elevator and we were off to the third floor. And when we got there, this family of 8, nonchalantly walking to their red innova, again parked in a disabled parking slot. I stopped to take a second look - none of them were in wheelchairs, had canes, were limping or in anyway disabled. Granted that one of them was carrying a toddler, but from my last check having a child did not equate to being disabled. What's even worse, a Mercedes Benz pulled up to one of the 2 remaining disabled parking slots and parked there -- and who was in the Mercedes Benz? A driver who was probably just going to wait there to be called to pick up his boss when he gets instructed to do so.

Haaaay... only in the Philippines!