I’d like to say I totally disagree with this article (below) but when I reflect on two things that happened to me today, perhaps the writer has a point.

First, at around 6:57 in the morning, Agee was driving and listening to 88.3. It was the program of Harry and Julz. Harry said that he had a pet peeve, that of motorists who do not let pedestrians cross even when they are already using the zebra crossings. I was relieved to know that it was not only I who noticed this. I have the same lament. So far so good, but Julz (or the woman on board at that time) responded, referring to pedestrians:

“But don’t take your bloody time when you are crossing.”

I swore at her, gave her the putang-ina. First of all bloody is still a swear word (consult google), and secondly, pedestrians are dreadfully afraid of crossing the streets and they won’t dilly-dally, so telling them to hurry up is added insult to injury.

To Julz or whoever you are: I pity you. If you’re a Filipina, I pity you more for imitating an American accent of sorts in spite of your identity. It diminishes you. If you’re an American woman, I pity you much, much more because you are a stranger here and you have no right to talk down to us.

Second, I was on Amorsolo street beside Makati Cinema at around 4:30pm, about to turn right to the Skyway. About five people from both sides of the street indicated that they wanted to cross the street from both sides. They were standing in front of zebra stripes. I slowed down. They cross. Just as a couple was about a fourth of the way through the pedestrian crossing, here comes a white Camry (I tried to memorize its plate number, it must be VEN 231) comes from my left side, zooms through the zebra, makes a sharp curve to the right missing the female by a couple of inches, as if he resented that he had to slow down or something like that. It was not only I who noticed it. The male noticed it, checked the female, looked at the Camry but what could he do?

It’s a good thing I don’t like guns.

So is this article right? I want to think that it’s exaggerated, but with what happened to me today, I sadly shake my head and say, “Today the writer is most probably right.”

 

The Death of Metro Manila
Posted on June 17, 2013 by hechoayer

Is Manila poor because it is ugly? Or is it ugly because it is poor?

Is it poor? Is it ugly?

It is no denying that the capital city of the Philippine archipelago is dying. It is one of the best examples of urban degeneration, one that is disintegrating at record speed. Despite the so-called economic boom the government and the middle class trumpet, the sad and disturbing reality is the capital of the Philippines represents the many contradictions and sad realities this society is facing.

Earlier today, thousands (oh, but Metro Manila has MILLIONS of residents) experienced awful traffic congestion due to flooding throughout the metropolis. For hours, tired students, professionals, workers and perhaps, tourists, were left helpless as the city’s major highways were left on standstill. There was an obvious and disappointing absence in terms of the presence of Policemen, traffic enforcers and members of the usually pesky Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Drivers (and their passengers) were asked to be simply “patient”.

Metro Manila is dying, and it’s dying every day.

With what happened earlier, expect NO CHANGE whatsoever to take place. Both motorists and the government will not change. And this is perhaps the perfect equation for a city to die.

The tremendous volume of vehicles in Metro Manila is appalling, and it is an alarming signal of the values of the people. Thousands of Metro Manila (or Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, or some nearby province) residents buy cars without (YES! WITHOUT!) considering their cars’ effects on the environment, traffic congestion or even urban plan. Many (NOT ALL, OKAY?!!) Filipinos, upon reaching a particular fortune, the first thing they do is buy a car. Brand new, second-hand, duty-free – whatever. Basta magka-kotse. Some car owners have two vehicles but do not have a single plot of land named to them. Some have four cars but do not have ample parking space for these!

The values of the Filipinos do not facilitate for a healthy urban plan.

First, there is the backward stigma on commuting. For Filipinos, a sign of wealth and prosperity is the car. Commuting is for the poor. Commuting is for losers. Commuting is scary. And to some degree, these are in fact, true. Government has to beef up and do something with regard to public safety in public transport. Congestion in MRT and LRT coaches are horrible, with some coaches not even equipped with functioning airconditioning.

Secondly, Filipinos just love appearances. We are afflicted with the disease of being an impressionable lot. A nice car can impress people, and so it is a necessary asset. We are so conscious of what other people might say that’s why we always buy the latest cars. We’re like the half-brothers of people from Los Angeles.

When we have cars, we want to be fetched by our drivers right at the footstep of the mall, school, hospital or church we are visiting. Who cares about the long queue of cars? I want to ride my car from where I am standing. I won’t walk to my car. The car must make its way to me… and I will ride my car at my own glacial pace.

Thirdly, there is the global disease that is materialism. The materialistic mind-set propels mall developers to continue destroying our cityscape and construct their mammoth developments. Look at SM Megamall. Not content with the chaos it has caused for decades, it is now constructing another horrendous edifice right smack along EDSA!

This materialistic mindset has spawned so many sins in our urban lives: the further subdividing of our cities, distinguishing places for the rich (and feeling rich) and the poor, the worsening pollution, envying one’s neighbor, why our wastage!

This condominium trend too spells the death of once genteel Manila. Are these high-rises all perfectly suited for our geographical needs, the Philippines being located at the Pacific Ring of Fire? And with the trauma the West continues to face due to its real estate crisis, is the Philippines fully-prepared for a possible bubble economy explosion? Are all the rooms in all the condos being built actually PAID?

And then, there is our frustrating government.

People spit anywhere, vendors put up their stalls on sidewalks and roads are not liberated. Our airports continue to employ inefficient staff and do not have airconditioning. Our cities continue to flood and billboards, obscene and pleasing, are everywhere. What are our local officials doing? And where is the national government’s interest in the genuine development of our capital? Where?

Metro Manila is dead. Its wide open avenidas are gone. Its tree-lined streets are nothing more but memories. Its people are so infatuated with the lives of celebrities and the latest gadgets that they forget to notice that their capital is dead. And the apathy of the educated and the elite is disturbing.

Compare Bangkok with Manila and you will find many contrasts amidst the similarity of traffic. They have a river that is utilized and their street foods, at the very least, look edible. The only “street foods” that look safe here are the ones being in MRT/LRT stations or in that UP parking lot. Have you visited our wet markets? Except for Marikina’s, as far as I know, wet markets can be really dim, smelly and well, yes, wet.

I do not know how we can list all of Metro Manila’s problems right now but I am telling you, Manila is facing a horrible end if people and the government do not change. Let us not forget that history tells us that “The Big One” is about to shake Metro Manila any moment now. How prepared our government is, we do not know. How prepared the people are, we also don’t know.

Basta you experienced earlier how our city’s main highways immobilized thousands upon thousands of persons. It gives you the perfect idea how Metro Manila will be when in a crisis hits.

Our city is dying, and nothing major will change. After Ondoy and Habagat, NOTHING has changed. Universities continue to allow thousands of cars to enter their premises. Schools almost encourage their students to cause traffic by allowing them to dismount their vehicles one-by-one at the door’s footsteps. Our heritage buildings are being sold and demolished. Our bay is dirty, our rivers are dead, our cities flood and the air we breathe is poisonous and toxic. There are so many street children and condominiums and malls are being built like mushrooms. Vehicles of all types daily exhaust the cityscape while obscene and materialistic billboards flourish in our ugly city. Metro Manila is dying.

Where is culture? Where is music? Where are our open spaces? Where are the scenic riverbanks? Where are the vistas of Laguna de Bay, of Manila Bay, of Sierra Madre, why, even of the Pasig? We have so many problems in urban planning and cultural preservation that we ought to impose drastic measures to rescue our city.