The thing with the traffic mess in Metro Manila is that it is easy to pontificate about the ideal long-term solutions — “consistent enforcement of traffic rules”, “construction of more roads”, “modernisation of public transport infrastructure”, etc. Indeed, all of those are the obvious solutions; solutions that should have been implemented a long time ago — before the problem got to the monstrous scale we suffer today. But given that this is the present and the situation remains the same (i.e. none of the obvious solutions have been implemented), then those obvious solutions still remain obvious but beyond immediate reach.
This means that even if well-funded projects are set in motion to get all of these obvious solutions implemented, Metro Manilans will still have to suffer for years while waiting for these long-term projects to deliver results. And given the reality far from this ideal — that substandardly-funded snail-paced projects are on-going — it is likely that by the time these are completed, the problem will have already advanced far beyond the scope of the solutions these projects had originally sought to put in place.
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Does this mean that Metro Manilans are doomed to generation after generation of a wretched life in Carmageddon?
Perhaps. Long-term solutions are simply anathema to a society where leadership changes every six years and where people lack an ability to think independently on the basis of a sound ethical grounding (i.e. be guided primarily by what is right rather than what a leader or showbiz idol says).
It is also difficult to sustain any confidence in the ability of Filipinos to apply the right approach to solving their problems. Indeed, it has long been pointed out that the Philippines is a result of lots of action underpinned by very little thinking. So a lack of action does not seem to be the issue. The issue lies in the quality of the thinking applied.
We see a lot of initiatives put in place to solve Metro Manila’s abominable traffic. But it is difficult to see the sense in any of them. And the results are, therefore, not surprising. All of them — “number coding”, U-turn slots, bus lanes, truck bans, etc. — quite simply do not work. Even building new roads, widening existing ones, and constructing fly-overs and elevated highways fail to relieve traffic congestion or change its spiralling trajectory to gridlock oblivion.
Whenever a new bright idea comes up or a new “traffic czar” is appointed, you just know in your gut that the result will ultimately be a big fat fail.
So is the traffic situation in the Philippines hopeless?
It seems so. Everyone — from the President himself down to the lowliest “traffic enforcer” — is at their wits’ ends. It is easy to imagine the aspired-for target state. Any idiot can imagine traffic Nirvana — because they see it every night on primetime TV on American shows. But charting a course to getting to it is a virtually intractable challenge in the Philippine setting. This is because the landscape a traffic solutioneer needs to navigate is fraught with pitfalls, roadblocks, and show-stoppers. Indeed, the biggest one of them is, as mentioned earlier, the quality of Filipino thinking. Its spawn is the hopelessly inept bureaucracy, the system of government in place, the sorts of politicians the electorate breeds, and the layer upon layer of accumulated idiocy piled upon the country’s sad situation over several decades of Filipinos’ pwede-na-yan (that’ll do) and bahala na (come what may) way of life.
In short, there is no solution to Metro Manila’s traffic mess — because the very natures of the essential solutions are not compatible with Filipino culture in its current form. Filipinos are a self-centred, narcissistic, inconsiderate, discourteous, and thievin’ lot. A system where traffic flows smoothly is one where individuals trust said system — and one another to sustain that system. But such systems are built upon behavioural pillars that Filipinos simply lack. For that matter, the inherent nature of the way Filipinos think makes them wholly incapable of grasping the design principles of such a system! You cannot build a system based on trust and mutual respect if you are a people who lack both virtues.
This reality about Filipinos and its implications on any hope of solving their traffic mess lends its validity to the simple but wise words of Albert Einstein:
You cannot solve a problem using the same thinking that created it.
Filipinos, in short, need to change the way they think first before they can aspire to transforming their decrepit metropolises into world-class centres of commerce and culture that hum along rather than lurch awkwardly through a typical day.
Apply primitive thinking and you get primitive solutions. A problem created by primitive thinking can only be undone with modern thinking. And that is ultimately the solution not just to the Philippines’ traffic woes but to the Filipino Condition overall.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Traffic management transferred to the Highway Patrol Group from the MMDA – I really don’t know how will this solve the problem when its root is that the roads are not anymore sufficient to carry the number of vehicles and pedestrians that passes it. From the way I see it, the solution is either add more roads or relocate residents and businesses.
Fine, I hope the HPG will do a better job for fairness sake. However, I am really not confident with this. To me it is like appointing a new teacher to a classroom of 100 students, hoping that the new teacher’s approach improve the students learning capabilities when the real solution is either you transfer a portion of the students to another school or build additional classrooms.
Only someone with common sense can solve Manila’s unending slow motion death march.
In the philippines, That’s like asking one to find a needle in a haystack.
“The solution is in the problem”…my good teacher in Arithmetic usually stated, when I was in the Elementary Grade; struggling to solve an Arithmetic problem.
We elected people, who cannot solve the traffic problems. They do not see the traffic problems. They cannot comprehend why there are traffic problems.
How can you solve these problems; if you cannot even understand the problems…
So, the Traffic problems remain; and ordinary people , like you and me suffer. As the roads, in Metro Manila, become “virtual parking lots”…
How can that mentally retarded Aquino and the incompetent Roxas and Tolentino, solve these traffic problems? How can those Show Biz Politicians, who are in public offices, solve these Traffic problems?
They cannot because, they lack the Mental Capabilities and Mental Calibers, to solve the Metro Manila Traffic problems. They are waiting for people to rescue them, from their incompetence.
The next time you elect Politicians; you have to think a hundred times, why these people are running for public offices. And, how will they perform in the jobs, they are asking us.
See their: educations, track records, work experiences, IQ/EQ, etc… Anybody can run for public office. However the 64 Pesos Question is: Will they be good problem solvers?
Didn’t you hear? The INC caused all the traffic problems. The roads should be clear now. I’m sorry, just being sarcastic because how the Filipinos are so eager to accept the generosity of the INC and just as eager to blame the INC for the problems. The INC isn’t the Manalos, the INC is the members. The Manalos are members,some of which have an office. Executive Minister is held by Brother Eduardo V. Manalo. I’m here in the states, I have been to the Philippines several times since the 80’s. The traffic was so bad each time I was there. I remember my first jeepney ride. My arm was nearly taken off. It’s a 4 lane road but people were making it 7 to 8 cars wide. This, in itself,causes a jam. That was 30 years ago, how much more now?
That the solutions to the traffic problem, thus far, have never been ‘solutions’ at all, seems to be the ‘real problem’. Neither the ‘truck ban’, the ‘odd-even tags’, the ‘dedicated lanes’, nor the ‘HPG-enforcement’.. have been solutions; they were just palliatives applied to assuage the symptoms, and were never serious attempts to cure the problem. What’s worse is that the traffic mess, unsolved as it were, just grew into the frustratingly knotty tangle that it is today.The real solution.. the only cure to the long running traffic nightmare.. is ‘political will’. It is the 400# gorilla visibly sitting in the room.
It will serve no purpose at all to go through a litany of ‘what-might-have-beens’. The facts are still the same; ie.. the ribbon of streets are not about to grow; the inflow of squatters, (I forget the euphemism) continue unabated; more buses, cars and trucks are added incrementally; offices, stores and markets are still being built in and around the core; and, the public are as selfish, inconsiderate and as unruly as ever.. and are becoming more so. Further.. none of the Mayors, MMDA Chairs, nor Presidents.. have had the gumption, nerve, fortitude.. and the political will to confront the problem honestly and squarely. Neither the just unseated ‘Police General’, nor the sitting ‘Tough-Guy’ of Manila.. nor any of the present crop of the ‘Satellite Cities’ around Manila.. have any time nor inclination to do so. They seem to be afraid of displeasing certain sectors of the public; and, appear to be averse to collectively. agree to one, or any mutually acceptable solution to the chaotic and harmful mess that is plaguing their constituents and, indeed, the country today.
‘Culture'(?)…I don’t want to go there really. There seems to be more ‘culture’ in a cup of yogurt than there is in all of Metro-Manila. Seriously, I doubt that deliverance is on the way any time soon.
They are “Band Aid” Solutions, to degenerating Metro Manila Traffic problems…
They cannot formulate lasting solutions to the Metro Manila Traffic problems…
one thing missing on metro manila streets that would help the traffic situation..DISCIPLINE…i don’t think i have to expound more on this..everybody knows
“Long-term solutions are simply anathema to a society where leadership changes every six years and where people lack an ability to think independently on the basis of a sound ethical grounding (i.e. be guided primarily by what is right rather than what a leader or showbiz idol says)”
That means projecting, forecasting, what the problem would look like 20 to 30 years. Solutions to the problems always lag behind because they are trying to solve present problems. Infrastructures by the time they are finished always fall short because it only tried to solve a problem of yesterdays.
To solve the traffic problem, which is really reflective of the society’s problem and psychology in general as article says, really needs a total approach, an inter-generational solution, which is not possible when you have a governance that only looks at things that could be accomplished within six years, on top of the fact that every succeeding administration discontinues the projects of the preceeding.
For Manila, total approach means creating more commerce in the provinces, so the city could be decongested; coming out with a totally revamped urban plan, like converting all the flood prone areas into parks and protected mini forests; implementing a very strict zoning control; a rationalization of the entire mass transport with a 50-year outlook, and an education of the public that when they contribute to aesthetic ugliness and disorderliness, they are contributing to the reduction of productivity with multiplying effect — that pursuing beauty and orderliness is worth pursuing because they do have solid, concrete impacts even if they are abstract concepts. All these not possible when the public cannot trust the government because it is corrupt. Total approach needs the cooperation of all.
But before we talk of big things, let us not forget that the problem looks much, much bigger today because of the stupidity of PNoy. Yes, let us repeat ad infinitum his stupidity. First, he said he is removing the subsidies of the LRT/ MRT because afterall Visayas and Mindanao are benefiting them. But, that is not the concept of mass transport, as if they were a burden. The whole point of mass transport is to increase productivity in an area, and any subsidy, investment into it, could immediately be recovered from the increase productivity. Yet, he was also deceitful because it was really not about Visayas and Mindanao, but about savings so that DAP grows ever bigger as events have now shown. So, stupidly deceitful.
Second, that means increasing the fares. What an asinine way, when the direction should be towards reducing the fare to a point that the inefficient and polluting jeepneys and busses are rendered uncompetitive. When you remove jeepneys and busses, you are already taking out half of what clogs the street. And not understanding the concept, he had no problem totally delaying the addition of three lines as scheduled. Oh really, I want to slam his Bald Head into a hard, doubly hardened wall.
To make matter worse, because they don’t understand the concept, they started playing footsie with the maintenance of the trains. Even today Abaya is about to give a 4Billion contract to guys who know nothing about trains. Sonamagan, death penalty should be returned just for this guy. And he should be killed slowly for the much suffering he has so far inflicted on the public. And we are not yet talking of the kaligiman he has done in LTO, Marina, and the airports.
Today, car owners who normally don’t take their cars to work now find themselves driving thru all the hellish traffic just because Roxas, Abaya, Vitangcol decided to kick out Sumitomo, who were just doing fine maintaining the trains. Imagine how many thousand of these car owners add to the congestion, just because the trains have become inutile. I tell you, if this happened in other Asian countries, these guys won’t able to show their faces in public because there will always be a mob waiting to maul them to their hospital beds in coma. The patience of Filipinos is no longer a virtue, but a vice that is dangerous to public safety.
“Filipinos are a self-centred, narcissistic, inconsiderate, discourteous, and thievin’ lot. A system where traffic flows smoothly is one where individuals trust said system — and one another to sustain that system. But such systems are built upon behavioural pillars that Filipinos simply lack.”
When you ask some erring Filipinos why they commit crimes, like why they steal from someone or kill first, they might say, “Eh baka gawin sa akin, pangunahan ko na! (they might do it to me, so I’ll preempt them!)” Makes me wonder if Filipinos are naturally schizophrenic.
Very nice article. When you talked about the need for mutual “trust”and respect between people utilizing the streets, this trust must be drawn somewhere. If people are to trust his fellow motorists/pedestrians, they would all have to assume that everybody around him/her have had the necessary instructions and information about the road, it’s accessories, motor vehicles and most importantly, the rules and regulations that the law dictates. I don’t understand why it’s so ridiculously easy to get a driving license in the Philippines, given the aforementioned characteristic bad traits of the pinoy. Of course, everybody can choose to pay their way to a driver’s license, so nobody really knows if anybody really know the rules on the road. Responsibility and general public safety must be prioritized, therefor, a strict and comprehensive driving schooling must be required before another strict and comprehensive test. That should at least minimize the motoring population to only qualified and skilled drivers. Good conduct on the road should be introduced intensively and rather early to our children. And lanes! OMG! How hard could it be to follow and stay on them? Would it kill you not to? Cause it’ll more likely do, if you don’t. Alas, one of the hardest obstacles to this desired Nirvana are, as mentioned in the article, the same people and motoring offices that would and should be enforcing the law. Their integrity and credibility must be restored or the Ragnarok goes on on the streets. You can’t respect an authority that doesn’t respect itself and it’s citizens, plain and simple. Infrastructure is crucial and must be precise, complete and clean, so good luck with that too. Not to mention the out-dated jeepneys and tricycles we have, whose drivers reckless driving skills and mannerisms had gone so bad, they are eventually provoking ordinary people to downright murder nowadays. An upgrade in technology, mentality and the entire transport system would really come in handy ASAP!
Why do I always forget that traffic in the Failippines is a “social and political affair”?
Traffic in the Failippines is like the so-called “Failipino democratic process”. Every time you think it’s going to get moving and take you somewhere, you hit another jam.
YOU are the answer to Manila’s traffic gridlock.
Yes YOU my friend (look yourself closely in the mirror now). Yes it’s YOU YOU YOU!
The best thing YOU can do to help is to GET OUT!!!
YES, settle in the province, or become an OFW.
With YOU out of the equation, that will be 1 less car on the road, 1 less commuter pressing into the already congested public transport system.
Did you know that PHL was meant to be HELL on earth for YOU by design. It’s part of the overall scheme of things so that YOU WILL GET OUT and become an OFW so you can remit back DOLLARS, YEN, EURO back to a consumer-driven (not export oriented) economy.
Meanwhile, Henry Sy and all the other oligarchs are just laughing their way to the bank.
Again, GET OUT of Manila, OR suffer jail time every day of your MISERABLE LIVES – it’s your choice.
Much easier said than done,for many reasons,but I agree 100%…theres just too many vehicles on the road….its like trying to run niagra falls thru a garden hose…..
Or like an elephant trying to mate with a hamster.
And who ever thought of setting up a nations’s capital city between a bottleneck strip of land locked between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay?
Move the capital to the Subic and Clark area! Create a new Zaxxun state there like a mini Singapore. Press the reset button a do a Canberra.
And may I add, if you get out of Manila, depart also from the kind of behavior and thinking that contributed to the city’s wretched state otherwise you’ll also corrupt the place where you’re going.
@sick amore- good advise for those who find the exit door
And while you’re on the plane to a better land of greener pastures flowing with milk and honey, try to read the guidebook on how to keep yourself from getting deported / kicked out of the new society you’ll live in:
http://zaxxun.com/filipino-mind-revolution/
Shed off that corrupt and incompetent Pinoy mindset by taking in a daily dose of pure unadulterated common sense.
Great presentation, @zaxx. But what’s with “Zaxxun”?
@Sick_Amore, Thanks.
“Zaxxun”? It just stands for the peaceful united revolutionary movement (p13); upper case letters below:
RiZAl mind revolution for the X-termination of corruption and X-termination incompetence – the UNited movement
further explained on p.14.
Once the Almighty brings down the corruptors and replaces them with Zaxxuns (Zaxxun Creed adherents), PHL will begin its transformation into the next “Singapore”.
Here’s another reason why the Philippine traffic problems will never be solved: the government is allowing these Chinoys and Koreans to mass produce privately-owned vehicles (automobiles and motorcycles).
It’s not that hard to change things. The biggest problem is the unwillingness to implement existing rules. No unloading or stopping at any time means what the sign says. Yet traffic enforcers just watch while busses and jeepneys block the road.
Lessen the busses on the road, many are not needed, there are simply too many.
Take away bus stations which are located along major roads and intersections. Which fucking idiot ever allowed such a thing? Provincial Bus operators and their bus stations should be banned to the outskirts of Metro Manila from where they have easy access to the highway system.
Take out a big percentage of the driving coffins called jeepneys. Many of them are in such a rotten state that in other countries you would not even find such a vehicle in a junk yard. These vehicles are illegal by all means! No lights, bald tires, smoke belching…..no need to explain further.
Talking about jeepneys, when drivers renew their license they should be forced to undergo an education program about how to behave in traffic. Make it crystal clear that offenders will have their vehicles impounded and crushed for junk.
Ban all tricycles from public roads. They are a fucking nuisance and are only good to support the laziness of people. They should be only allowed inside private subdivisions.
Impose the stiffest fines and take away licenses from private drivers and operators of public transport vehicles if they break traffic rules. I’m talking about a 3 month suspension upon first offense. Second offense 6 month, 3rd will be a 5 year suspension of the operators license.
Synchronize the bloody traffic lights all over Manila. Even if you spend 500 Million it pays off in the shortest period of time.
Bring in traffic specialists from abroad and follow to the point what they propose. There are people out there who can do this well. The ADB would even shoulder some of the cost for this.
Fix choke points which are a result of bad roads. I know places since 30 years that have never been fixed properly. If people carry their vehicles over those roads in snail pace, no wonder the traffic collapses.
Clear sidewalks all over the city. Get rid of squatters, carinterias, vendors and alike who use sidewalks as if it was their private property. No parking on major roads!!!!
Fire all MMDA and other traffic enforcers and create a new, well educated and well paid task force (maybe people from the armed forces) who will rule with an iron hand. Have an oversight body who checks and double checks the task force. There are now cameras everywhere. It’s more than easy to check and see when the traffic enforcers are not doing their job.
Construction: There is construction ongoing everywhere, but no one is ever fucking working. What the fucking hell??? There should be thousands upon thousands of workers on the sites, not hundreds. Projects could be done in month, not years. And what is it all about to block off street lanes because of upcoming construction, but then it takes weeks or month before they even start? Idiotic assholes run the system. I block off the road the day before I start, not 5 weeks before. AAARRRRRRGGGGHH!
Should I go on……?
RIGHT FUCKING ON !!! INSTILL SOME DISCIPLINE ! ALL YOU WIMPY ASS,LAZY,EVERYTHING’S HOPELESS,NEGATIVE,”OH I WISH IT WAS THIS WAY,OH ME,OH MY,OH GOD HELP US CUZ WE CANT FIGURE IT OUT FOR OURSELVES”THINKING PEOPLE NEED TO STEP ASIDE,YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY !! HAVE SOME COJONES,HAVE SOME BIG BALLS,STEP UP TO THE PLATE,AND TAKE CHARGE !!! DO THE RIGHT THING FOR YOURSELVES AND YOUR NATION !! WHAT PART OF THIS DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND???? DO SOMETHING THAT WILL INSTILL SOME REAL FILIPINO PRIDE,AND NOT THIS IGNORANT,PATHETIC,APATHETIC EXAMPLE THAT THE ENTIRE WORLD SCOFFS AT.
THERE ARE WAYS TO AT LEAST GIVE A FRESH AIR ON THE TRAFFIC SITUATION IN THIS COUNTRY,
FIRST: MAKE THE DAY OFF ROTATIONAL THE WHOLE WEEK , IT MEANS SOME COMPANIES WILL HAVE A DAY OFF , ON MONDAYS , TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, THURS, SATS, AND SUNDAYS. IN THIS WAY WE WILL BE REDUCING THE TRAVELER IN A PARTICULAR DAY AND ALSO SCHOOLS WILL ADOPT SAME SYSTEM , EVEN ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL , WE CAN EVEN SOLVE THE SHORTAGES OF CLASSROOMS I BELIEVE IN THIS WAY . ELEMENTARY WILL ATTEND SCHOOLS IN THE MORNING AND HIGH SCHOOL WILL ATTEND SCHOOLS IN THE AFTERNOON, ALSO IN COLLEGES THEY HAVE TO COMPRESS THE SUBJECTS SCHEDULE THAT IT CAN BE ACCOMMODATED JUST FOR THE MORNING SESSION AND SOME FOR THE AFTERNOON SESSION AGAIN THIS WILL SOLVE PROBLEMS FOR PARENTS FOR ALLOWANCES
SECOND: ENCOURAGE COMPANIES TO HAVE DORMITORIES IN THEIR COMPOUND OR WORK SITE, GIVING THESE COMPANIES SOME INCENTIVES FOR SUCH INITIATIVE, AGAIN THESE WILL REDUCE THE NUMBER OF COMMUTERS IN A PARTICULAR DAY,
THIRD: COLOR CODE BUSES PER DESTINATION, NOT ALL PARTICULAR CARS CAN UNLOAD AND LOAD IN A PARTICULAR STOP
FOURTH: INSTALLING RFID’S TO BUSES OR PUJ ,FOR NON CONTACT APPREHENSION , THIS MINIMIZES “KUTONGS” AND “LAGAYAN”. ALL VIOLATORS CAN NOT RENEW LICENSES IF THEY CAN NOT SETTLE THEIR DUES. HERE WE NEED HIGH TECH CAMERAS AND SENSORS
FIFTH: INSTALL BARRIERS /GRILLS ALONG THE ROADS TO DETER PEOPLE FROM CROWDING IN THE ROADS OBSTRUCTING CARS, BUT ONLY IN THE LOADING AND UNLOADING AREA ONLY
SIXTH: WE NEED TO RE-ENGINEER EDSA OR ALL THE MAJOR ROADS OF METRO MANILA REMOVE THE FLYOVERS WITHIN EDSA THIS IS CAUSING CHOKES LIKE ALONG CAMIAS ROAD OR KAMUNING ROAD BUSES WILL CONVERGES ON THAT ARE ALSO IN CUBAO THE UNDERPASS IS NOT CONTRIBUTING TO EASE TRAFFIC INSTEAD OF THESE UNDERPASSES AND FLYOVERS ALONG EDSA , THEY WILL BUILT UNDERPASSES ON THE MINOR ROADS GIVING EDSA AN UN INTERRUPTED FLOW OF TRAFFIC , ALSO WE SHOULD REDESIGN OUR BUSES THAT THEY SHOULD UNLOAD AND LOAD AT THE CENTER ISLES ONE FOR LOADING ANOTHER FOR UNLOADING IT WILL BE DEIGNED AS A BRT SYSTEM BUSES WILL HAVE AN EXIT AND ENTRY DOOR SO THAT AS IT UNLOADS IT WILL ALSO LOAD AT THE SAME TIME , TAP CARD SHOULD BE INTRODUCED FOR EASY PAYMENT THIS WILL EASE THE TIME OF LOADING AND UNLOADING , WHY THERE IS ANEED OF SUCH SYSTEM ,COMMUTERS BUSES OR JEEPNEYS TEND TO RUN ON A STREET LINE ON A PARTICULAR DESTINATION , WHILE PRIVATE CARS TEND TO EXITS MORE OFTEN , IN THIS WAY WE WILL ALLOW A SMOTHER EXITING OF PRIVATE CARS , ALL PROVINCIAL BUSES SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO UNLOAD AT EDSA
ALSO THEY SHOULD STUDY THE ROUTING OF PASSENGER CARS THERE ARE SO MANY DUPLICITY ON THE ROUTES THUS GETTING MORE CARS ON A PARTICULAR ROAD
THE MRT LINES SHOULD ALL BE ELEVATED, SAYANG YONG ALMOST 2 LANES NA NAWALA SA MGA TRACKS NA NASA GROUND
ALSO WE HAVE TO DISCIPLINE OUR DRIVERS BY IMPLEMENTING PROPERLY OUR LAWS .AND ALSO CITIZENS HAVE TO TAKE PART TO MAKE ORDER IN ROADS
Given your title, I didn’t expect you to suggest even just one measure to help ease the traffic mess. Then at the end you mentioned “modern thinking” as ultimately the solution. I hope you can further elaborate on what you mean by “modern thinking”.
Modern thinking is a lot of things. But its most important aspect is seeing things for what they are and recognising problems where they exist.
It’s not an easy transformation going from primitive thinking to modern thinking because it involves challenging the core of your most cherished beliefs in an ongoing quest to find the right solutions that address the real fundamental problems and not just the readily-apparent symptoms.
Ok let’s have all the Mathematicians and Physicists run the country – as they are the ones trained to think and solve problems based on First-principles.
German chancellor Angela Merkel was a physicist – and Germany seems to be doing pretty well
Prof. Albert Einstein, the great Theoretical Physicist, was offered the Presidency of the new nation: Israel. He declined the offer.
Germany’s PM Angela Merkel is a Quantum Physicist, who specialize in Quantum Chemistry. The Lady PM is very intelligent. An IQ of maybe…180 or more…
I doubt, if the Philippines can produce such kind of a Leader. Uneducated Show Biz people, Mentally Retarded people, Immature People, People with Mental Issues, etc…are running for public offices. And, the Filipinos are electing them…the HOCUS PCOS does the good work also in elections.
Open letter to GRP
Many in this very forum would be far more qualified to lead this country. If GRP had the balls, it would form a political party and start kicking ass in the gladiator’s arena. But somehow people here are just too content simply whining -reporting all the stupidity (which everyone already knows anyways) from the sidelines.
Well GRP, your mandate as a passive reporter is over. you are now all members of the new political party like it or not. And the party name is called ——-> CSP party
CSP —— for Common Sense for Pinoys!!!
Your only other alternative is the NSP coalition, where each member is out to outdo each other in every form of Non-Sense you can’t even think was possible.
It still baffles me that our predecessors didn’t think of building more railway systems. It could’ve minimized traffic problems since there’ll be less public transports on the road.
Third-world countries almost never manage to install railways. There’s too much money involved. A Filipino who sees a billion pesos earmarked for a railway will see it as his duty to steal at least half of it.
Gagawa rin lang ng LRT at MRT system – yung pinakamakitid na coaches pa ang pinili. As in zero-foresight!
In every major city I’ve been across Asia they use long wide-bodied trains for maximum carrying capacity.
Tsk tsk tsk ! Konting common sense lang po sana next time ha
These leaders lack the capacity to care. Truth is one need not be intelligent to have common sense, one only need to care and to mind others other than oneself.
True, true.
Or maybe they did have foresight – but foresight on how to make a killing on kickbacks. Imagine 2/3 narrower trains would mean 1/3 in kickbacks for the same price tag as standard wide-bodied ones.
Cruel heartless totally pathetic decision making like this is hard to undo. How can anyone widen the MRT – LRT trains/tracks now?
Dude you are right on !! The apathy stops NOW !!
The MRTs/LRTs were conceived early in the 1980s, with construction starting in 1986. This could easily be sourced and verified. The present administration could not be faulted in matters of design and construction. The pressing concern now, however, is in management, ‘maintenance, and in the facility’s expansion to address the present need. While it was designed to service 300 to 400 thousands passengers daily, it is now pushed to take 500 to 600 thousands. We can’t say for sure what the FVR, JME(Erap), and GMA administrations did to anticipate the problem; but certainly, it is incumbent upon the present dispensation to solve them now. A big part of the problem seems to be the overlapping layers of companies that lay claim to the capital outlays, equipment and material procurement and yearly budgets but, who point to each other when accidents and crippling breakdowns occur and, when repairs are needed. The default scapegoat, perhaps not unreasonably, is always the DOTC. Late in the day as it is, this administration, must do all that’s possible to ease the suffering of the hard-working daily commuters who happen to be key players in the economy. The President and his technocrats have been playing deaf and dumb for far too long.
By the way, the railroad-track gauges of the MRT/LRT, the ‘almost-dead’ PNR and the Panay Railroad.. as well as those of the New York Rail and Subway system.. is the ‘Standard 4ft. & 8in.’ measured from the inside surfaces of both rails. The railroad cars might be reconfigured to accommodate more riders, but that’s about it.. other than, of course, adding more cars. A further afterthought is that, ‘big-time’ scavengers have been clawing-up all the ‘Narrow Gauge’ rails from the Negros and Iloilo sugar centrals and their milling districts, and selling these for scrap. This must not be allowed to happen with the PNR and Panay Railroad whose lives and viability could and should be resuscitated.
REMOVE all buses in highways ! make a CIRCULAR routeS like in QC CIRCLE, NO TO INTERSECTION ! CHARGE ROAD TAX ( it will only affect the rich and the taxes SHOULD go to funding PUBLIC hospitals for the poor ) and also BUILT MORE TRAINS CONNECTING MANILA TO PROVINCES