Metro Manila Traffic will Destroy the
Philippines, and Every Filipino Shares the Blame!
Editorial
Metro Manila, once the premier city in all of
Southeast Asia is now a "Hell-on-Earth" for the 12 million ill-fated
souls forced to live in it. The rapid movement of people and goods that
epitomize a prosperous, dynamic city is gone. The country's National Capital
Region (NCR) is dying and when it dies, it will take the entire country with
it.
It is estimated that three billion pesos ($64
million) is lost each and every day because of traffic. And left unchecked,
Metro Manila may become uninhabitable well within a decade. So who's to blame?
Here's a short list that includes you and me.
1. The three branches of government. People in this group are driven around
in caravans with motorcycle escorts, lights flashing and sirens blaring. They
never experience any traffic while riding around the city in their
bullet-proof, late-model, air-conditioned, SUVs. So they're not even aware a
traffic problem exists. Legislation that would have instituted proper urban
planning or funded well-thought-out infrastructure and mass-transit
projects were never introduced, and if it was, never properly implemented.
Roads throughout the metropolis are very badly designed and and poorly
maintained. Many don't even make sense—a patchwork of work-arounds and make-dos
that have been decades in the making.
This is in large part because there is
no long-range planning in the Philippines, everyone it seems is just interested
in the here and now—remembering the past or planning for the future is just a
waste of time as far as most Pinoys are concerned.
Also, legislation to make driver's education a
requirement in school has never been passed. A law making this a prerequisite
for graduation from high school should immediately be passed.
2. The driving public. It does not matter if it is dilapidated
jeep or a late-model Porsche, if the person behind the wheel is a Filipino, 99
times out of a hundred, he or she is a lousy driver. Road courtesy is
next to non-existent in the Philippines. Everyone cuts everyone else off;
people drive on the wrong side of the road when it is convenient; motorcyclists
weave in and out of traffic and drive on sidewalks; complete chaos! A Pinoy
driver will block everyone behind him just to get ahead in traffic. If you want
to witness kanya-kanya in action, drive around Metro Manila.
Because driver's education has never been
taught in school, several generations of Filipino drivers have gotten behind
the wheel without proper training or fully understanding the rules of the road.
However it is essential that discipline and correct driving habits be instilled
in all Filipino drivers. Road courtesy and strict compliance with all traffic
rules, regulations, and laws must be at the very top of any to-do list to fix
the country's traffic problem.
3. Jeepney, bus and tricycle drivers. These are oftentimes the worst
offenders. They seem to have no regard for anyone else on the road. First of
all, jeepneys need to be phased out and replaced with buses as we noted on a
previous editorial (LINK). Only in
third-world countries like the Philippines will you find these types of
outdated, highly inefficient modes of public transportation.
4. Pedestrians and the general public. Even ordinary people cause traffic by
walking on the street when they ought to use the sidewalk. Pinoys think nothing
of walking on roadways even when sidewalks are available. Then again, many
times there are no sidewalks because it is occupied by street vendors, or
parked vehicles, or businesses that expropriate the sidewalk for their own use,
or simply because the local government never bothered to put in a sidewalk. It
is not unusual for a business to use not just the sidewalk in front of their
location, but part of the public roadway as well. Thus a two-lane road will
have just a single usable lane for cars to use.
And to the rest of us who see all these
"wrongs" and keep silent about it, we need to change that bad habit
as well. Let us all make our voices heard and demand change. Otherwise we end
up condoning all the wrong that brought us to where we're at today.
Needless to say, Metro Manila traffic is one
big...gigantic mess. We don't have all the answers but the problem must be
addressed not only for the short term, but for the medium, and long terms as
well. It will be difficult and everyone will have to share in the burden and
the pain—everyone! Because at the end of the day, we Filipinos all share in the
blame. But it must be done. And if it is to be done right, the country must
have only the best and brightest minds addressing the problem. What we don't
want to do is put all our efforts into an ill-conceived, half-baked solution.
If no Pinoys have the requisite expertise for the job —and judging by the
present traffic mess, none do—then let us seek out the best foreign traffic
experts to solve the problem. And once we implement a solution let us stick to
it and continue to improve on it—not just implement it for a year or two as is
typical of our ningas-cogon mentality.
President Rodrigo Duterte is going to have a lot on his plate
just with Metro Manila's traffic mess. We hope he reads some of the
observations we point out above and we send him all our good wishes ... God
knows he'll need it. Published 7/5/2016
This is the reason why I don't like draining in Manila.
con amor,
Vero
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