The problem with the Philippines IS...

On my way to giving a lecture last Thursday, while traversing the traffic of Metro Manila, someone asked me what I thought of the ODD-EVEN scheme that the MMDA is proposing to implement along EDSA.

As if our troubles of having to share the road of Metro Manila with these public utility vehicles were not enough with the number coding scheme (it's the last number on the plate number of our cars that determines whether you can use your car for the day or not).

THe proposal of the MMDA is to make all cars whose numbers end in ODD not allowed entry into EDSA on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while those that end in EVEN not allowed to access EDSA on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sanamagan! What an idiotic idea!

The discussion ended with me giving a treatise of the actual scenario of the Philippines.

Is there hope for the Philippines?

NO. Even if PNoy had himself castrated live on TV, I seriously doubt that there would be hope. Not in this generation. Not in this lifetime.

I am not being anti-nationalistic here. Believe me when I say that I love this country, in spite of all the faults of the people running it. But I can only share my love so much. Seriously, I am no martyr and am not willing to take a bullet for the other idiots that seem to be pathetically embroiled in so much graft and corruption.

I am sad to say that the people running this country (or even the local government at the very least) are clueless (and that's a kind word to describe them). Whatever experience they have or whatever credentials in governance they claim to have has no bearing on their capability to run this nation.

The basic problem of the Philippines is lack of DISCIPLINE. This is the core problem of the people of this nation. This is the problem that is impossible to tackle unless with an iron fist. At the rate we are going, all these limp wrist government officials are simply providing temporary solutions to a permanent problem. Daig pa nila ang mga bakla sa pagiging balimbing at pusong mamon!

DISCIPLINE.

What are rules and regulations and laws for if no one can follow them or implementing them will always have exceptions to these so-called rules?

You will have to agree with me that it takes a monumental love for country by each individual citizen to imbibe the culture of discipline.

The logic here is simple.

The MMDA claims that some school called University of the Philippines studied the traffic problem in Metro Manila and said that the sheer volume of private car owners traversing EDSA is a major reason for the congestion along this highway. Well call me silly and call these researchers stupid, but honestly, this was a myopic view of the actual problem on EDSA.

First is the fact loading and unloading in various public vehicle areas is the major problem of this country (not only Metro Manila). People think that when they stop a jeep or bus or tricycle in the middle of the road, that vehicle must come to halt and pick up their majesty. While there are loading and unloading areas for public vehicles, have you ever seen a place that loads and unloads them properly? These public vehicles will always jockey for passengers. Why? Because they are all paid based on commission or what the operators call boundary. Which means that they earn whatever excess of the minimum amount each operator allows them.

Traversing EDSA, on your right window you will see the buses. I counted the buses on the way to Novaliches from the same starting point. Bus 1 had 5 passengers, Bus 2 had 4 passengers, Bus 3 had 8 passengers, Bus 4 had 10 passengers, Bus 5 had 6 passengers, Bus 6 had 2 passengers, Bus 7 had 9 passengers and all these buses were headed for the same direction. The conductors and barkers were busily shouting their destination and of course, waiting for passengers to load the bus at the Guadalupe area. Why do we need all these buses which are practically not full? Gimme a break! One bus can put all these passengers (and still have extra space even if the passenger carried a pig as a carry on baggage) and head towards the same destination without hovering the already crowded highway. So why then blame the private cars?

The roads in the Philippines are NOT enough for ALL of the cars and public vehicles. Period.

But it does not mean that the private cars will need to make the ultimate sacrifice for these public vehicles. It is but logical that as more cars are available, there is less need for public vehicles. This is again secondary logic. Of course having more cars will mean that there more people can use their own vehicles moving from Point A to Point B without the need for public vehicle. Hence, as more cars are on the road, there should be logically less public vehicles accessing the same route. Simple logic. Something these people at MMDA lack. No brainer!

I am not saying that we remove all the public utility vehicles. The law of supply and demand is basic economics - you need to reduce them as well. Put a schedule for public transportation. Put only what is required and time the next destination. Why is it that we're willing to wait for the next train if we're taking the MRT? But if it's the bus or jeep or tricycle, it's got to be a royalty approach - they pick you up where you want to ride and if you could drop them off right at the doorstep of their house, so be it!

And media in all its claim of fair game, will always try to get the side of Claire de la Fuente who apparently heads the buses association. She should just go back to singing and not trying to defend what is only in their own vested interest. The impact to the Philippine economy of losing $2B a year on wasted time for having to traverse EDSA is not enough even if Claire sang gazillion songs a day! Or had all their buses burned!

My heart bleeds to the poorer people who need these so-called jobs to feed their family. I will be blunt. They should get a life. Is being a barker a job? Jeez! When they apply for a job in another country, they can type down in their resume - BARKER at Guadalupe EDSA. M*th*rF*ck*rs!! Legitimate jobs require that they PAY taxes. Do they even pay taxes? I seriously doubt that. They pay tithes - sin taxes to all those Kotong Officers (MMDA and policemen). And that includes these public utility drivers that earn their daily wages using the boundary method. They are legally employed! It's no wonder that when accidents occur, they scamper off and go into hiding, only to find another job in another public vehicle company another day! And private vehicles owners like you and I have to pay road taxes, incredibly high taxes on our cars, insurances at sky rocketing rates to protect our cars against public utility vehicles because when you get into an accident with them, the driver will just scratch his head and his balls and say that they have no money to pay (what ever happened to the third party liability) and the operators are simply in cahoots with the police officer who will make the police report so that they're scot free from liabilities.

Alright. So I am being mean. No, let's change that. I am degrading these nincompoops who need to get a life. Sarcasm is my middle name.

So these people are poor. But being poor is not an excuse for being stupid and not being disciplined. Discipline is the hallmark of any industrialized society. Unless we learn to cross at the pedestrian lanes, not spit on the road anytime our throat itches, pee on the walls with those tiny Pinoy penises hanging out in all the glory and splendor of yellow piss watering the steaming asphalt roads, learn to fall in line and wait for our turn, follow directions that are already splattered all over the walls and in our faces, load and unload in designated areas, have lesser graft and corruption so that proper urban planning for the metropolis is the rule of the game (and not see every SM or Ayala Mall shop rise somewhere in the middle of all the urban jungle), kids who are underaged should not be on the driver's seat raring to show off to their pathetic friends that they know how to drive, that texting while driving is dangerous not only to your life but to everyone as well, that everyone who drives a motorcycle should wear a motorcycle helmet and not some industrial hat and so on and so forth...

Discipline.

What do you expect to teach a young boy who rides with his father who is a tricycle driver about discipline if the father picks up passengers in the middle of the street and then pees against the wall of a house? The boy will think what the father is doing is cool. It's right. "If TATAY can do it, so can I."

There was a Nestle commercial a few years ago that ran a theme on DISCIPLINE. In the eyes of a child, what they see their parents do, they follow it blindly - thinking that its alright since the parents do it and get away with it anyway. They grow up that way and another generation bites the dust.

I remember that a few days ago when I arrived from San Francisco, the queue at the immigration area of the NAIA was long because all the other airlines had arrived. It was jampacked with OFWs. I went to the designated lane - Residents. I saw that the lanes for Visitors were also occupied by these OFWs and other Pinoys on my flight. It was after all a shorter queue, but really why is it that when these idiots see these signs in another country like Singapore or HongKong or the US, they fall in line properly? What is in the Filipino that when he is in his motherland, he does not seem to want to follow directions? It's like "Welcome Home" to the Philippines where the Filipino lives in anarchy. I was wondering how the foreigners on the same flight I took thought of the Filipinos. No read, no write! And we get angry when somebody lambasts us about being stupid! We have only ourselves to blame.

I took my queue, took out my iPhone and began playing a game while I was in line. There was this sneaky woman who saw that our line was moving faster so she sidled up to my side and started cutting the line. I think she thought that since I was busily playing "Angry Birds", I wasn't minding the line. It was not her day. I snapped at her at gave her a dagger look.

"Are you in line?"

She retorted proudly - "yes".

"Don't make me look stupid. You are not the person who's in front of me. Where is your line?"

Then she sheepishly points the other lane.

"Go back to your line. You Filipinos have no discipline at all. Go away and die."

She then sidled back to her queue.

I think she thought that I was a foreigner (of course with my looks and accent I am always mistaken for one). It's shameful to be berated over something as simple and as basic as DISCIPLINE.

But the Filipino has a thick hide. Over the years of stupidity and mediocrity and graft and corruption, we have been callused over the idea of instilling discipline among ourselves. Our reason - if the rich and powerful can do it, then so can we. A distorted reason but reality in the clearest sense of the word.

The one way conversation over the ODD-EVEN scheme ended when I got to my destination. The guy I was having a conversation was quiet and then said that he totally agreed with me and felt really sad about the situation in the country. We have a basic lack and that needs to get addressed today if we plan to change this country in the next 25 years. Enough with the temporary solutions to permanent problems. Enough with having to give in to the poorer sector of society. They will survive and they do not need dole outs in order to live. Seriously, they can just all join the various game shows and reality shows and somehow will manage to make ends meet. We need to stop making poverty an excuse for being pathetic and lazy.

I hate comparing us with other countries, but I cannot help it. Filipinos are as gentle as lambs when they are in Never Never Land but as ferocious as wolves when they are in their own country. You see them obey rules and regulations and laws in another country. They will not chew gum, they will cross pedestrian lanes, they will wait for the bus as scheduled, they will car pool when needed, they will wait in line.

The problem with the Philippines is the Philippines. We make too many exceptions to the rule. Ang problema - lahat gusto maging bida!

{Note: Photos from Panoramio by Dudz and free photo share]

Godforsaken traffic!

I have always marveled and shriveled at the never ending traffic problem in the Philippines.

I will put it bluntly - the traffic problem in the country is not only a major turn off for foreign investors but is the perfect mirror of the sense of non-urgency of the Pinoys.

I have never understood why this problem cannot be addressed.

No sitting president in the country has addressed this problem.

During her nine years in office, the outgoing dwarf in the palace has not addressed this situation as well. Sure she traveled all over the world on chartered flights and traveled to and from Malacanan without having to go through traffic (though her travels have also been the cause of the horrendous traffic as well).

But why do I want to talk about traffic in the Philippines?

Because traffic here has become a cultural problem. Like many of the cultural stupidities the Pinoys have, traffic is one of those classified as major headache.

Jeepneys, buses, FXs, taxis, and tricycles continue to lord it on the public roads. I cannot fathom why to local governments allow tricycles even in major thoroughfares. All forms of public vehicles (except trains and the railway systems) load and unload in prohibited zones. Even if there is a sign as big as daylight that says "NO LOADING AND UNLOADING FROM HERE TO CORNER", there will always be the Pinoy who thinks he is God or Gloria and will load and unload passengers at will.

I cannot understand why the people in this banana republic have to load and unload where they want to. You see them get off in one area then the jeep travels 50 meters and sanamagan another one gets off then it travels 20 meters and you see another nuthead get off and then after 5 meters the jeep stops because a passenger is getting on and then moves on the next 25 meters only to stop again because the driver has reached the loading and unloading zone. Dang!!! Sometimes you get to feel for the road rage people.

Some say that if you don't have the patience to drive in the streets of the Philippines you shouldn't be driving. I think that is the wrong kind of thinking or mindset. That is an idiot's line of thinking. Discipline is something that is wanting in this country. If you look at it from a microcosm, the traffic situation in the Philippines is the perfect singular example on the matter.

The surge of so many motorcycles in the country has also made the streets a chaos. These motorcycles drivers are probably part of the amazing lot of Pinoys who are able to put a maximum of 5 passengers on a two wheel vehicle. They have their wife and three children riding shotgun in all places on this vehicle and manage to swerve in and out of the roads of the Philippines. Never mind endangering the lives of the people on board. After all, if a car hits them, it will ALWAYS be the fault of the car. The charge? Driving with reckless imprudence leading to homicide (or whatever accident occurs).

There was an incident a few years ago where a man threw himself over the overpass of the Espana pedestrian walkway in front of the University of Santo Tomas. The man landed in front of a taxi cab that was traversing Espana St. The cab hit the guy who "fell from the sky" and the guy died. The poor cab driver was charged with reckless imprudence leading to homicide!?!?!!? Only in the Philippines.

Poverty and being a developing country CANNOT be an acceptable excuse for the sheer lack of discipline in this Godforsaken country. Our bleeding hearts and the senseless pathetic attitude of government officials towards the lack of discipline among the Pinoys on the road (and elsewhere) is definitely nerve-wracking and is a test of patience. Local politicians will always ride on the sentiments of the poor. That we should allow this kind of practice on how to ride public transportation in the Philippines is beyond my comprehension.

I can never understand how Pinoys who migrate to or travel to other countries (aside from the Philippines 7,107 islands) are able to be in their best behavior! My blog readers will attest to this! Watch a Pinoy cross the street in Singapore. They will cross where the pedestrian lane is. Watch a Pinoy cross the street in Quiapo. He is willing to play tag with the oncoming buses, jeepneys and cars and hurdle the cement barrier that is 3 1/2 feet high that divides the left side of the street with the right side of the street and will defy gravity after making that brave cross to the other side instead of going up the elevated pedestrian walkway.

I have never understood why we cannot put a reign on the public transport system in this country.

Most of the people, except for Bayani Fernando and the Metro Manila Development Authority, know that the major cause of traffic in the Philippines in general and Metro Manila in particular is NOT the sheer volume of private vehicles. Rather, it is the lack in discipline and poor quality of urban planning in each of the cities in the metropolis.

Remove every SM mall and you will see traffic decongest by 20% instantly! Every SM mall is strategically located in areas that are accessible to public transportation. Each of these malls are converted indirectly into public station depots because of the large number of people that go to these malls. Remove all the malls (aside from the SM malls) from within each city and you would have added 10% decrease in traffic congestion.

All 10 wheelers (and above) should be banned from the roads from 6am - 9pm. Hindi kasya ang kalsada para sa ating lahat (the streets are not enough for all of us). They should try to make use of the port to port delivery rather than make use of the door to door delivery system. Of course, it will only be those operating the ports that will holler at this idea, but seriously, will it kill them if they only plied the streets of the metropolis during nighttime? It certainly will decrease the number of accidents on the street and definitely the traffic. Most of these old trucks bog down in the middle of our narrow thoroughfares and just ONE ten wheeler causes a humongous traffic that takes hours to unclog and wastes so much manpower and precious time. Decreasing these big trucks will decrease 25% more of the congestion and traffic conditions not to mention the unquantifiable hours lost and gasoline saved for the ordinary Juan de la Cruz.

Then there are the Pinoys who insist on playing tag with cars that ply the highways. You see one Pinoy dashing from one end to the other end with child in tow! We waste so much in taxpayers money building overhead pedestrian lanes which are occupied only by vendors or used underneath by motorcycles when it rains, as a shelter! Gadzooks! And the only one that actually benefited from these structures are the local government officials who stood to make a quick buck from these infrastructures.

And if we only did these, we wouldn't need to have color-coding days! Only the traffic aides stand to gain from this corrupt and inept ordinance in Metro Manila!

Time.

There is no sense of urgency among the Pinoys! And if we intend to move out of the third world category, we need to fix this problem NOW. I cannot understand why we cannot walk a few meters so we can provide more convenience to the majority of the commuting public! Is it so hard to understand this?

Patience they say is a virtue. Some may say that I am an impatient person and that I should just let majority of the commuting public do what they currently are doing - violating the law.

I think that over the half decade of my existence, and my having to bear with this stupidity and crazy traffic system and car coding system in the country, I have redefined the definition of patience.

Those that tolerate this system and turn a blind eye to the actual scenario, are not patient. They are masochists. They deserve to be in the banana republic!

Maarte and Pinoy!

Kamuntik na ako makasapak ng tao. Leche talaga yang mga pasahero at mga pampasadang pampubliko na tumatambad sa mga kalye natin sa Metro Manila. Sabii nga ni Fernando Poe, Jr na "masikip ang mundong ito para sa atin". At masikip nga ang kalye ng Maynila para sa mga lintik na pedicab, tricycle, jeep, bus at ang mga bagong ipis - ang mga motor!

Hindi ko alam kung sino ang nagpauso ng sangkatutak na iba't ibang klaseng mga pampasadang pampubliko sa Pinas. Parang mga kabute na bigla na lamang nagsulputan. At lahat ng sulok ng ka-Maynilaan ay nagdurusa dahil sa pampasaherong publiko.

Hindi sa pagaalipusta, pero sa totoo lang, OA masyado ang pampasaherong publiko natin. Kung titignan mo, eh kahit na anong oras may pampasaherong publiko tayo na masasakyan. Kahit na walang laman yang mga jeep at bus at pedicab at tricycle, eh nasa kalsada sila. Nagaabang sa mga lugar na nakalagay "no loading and unloading". Harap harapan ng mga MMDA o pulis o trafik enforcer na lokal na pamahalaan. Eh mga ganid din yan mga yan. Hanep naman sila manghuli ng mga "color coding" pero yung mga pampasaherong publiko, harap harapan na ang paglabag sa batas pang trapiko, eh bulag bulagan pa ang mga putres na yan.

Isama na ninyo ang mga maaarteng mga pasahero. Dapat pag sinabi nilang PARA!!!, eh dapat mag preno agad ang mga driver. Kahit na tumilapon ang matanda na nakatayo sa harap mo, eh dapat bumaba na ang hitad na sumigaw ng PARA!!! Sana bumaba na ang putres na yon nung bumaba na yung isang ale sa kanto. Eh di pa nakaka primera ang driver, eh bababa na din itong hitad. Dapat kasi, sa harap ng barong barong o sa harap ng iskwater area o sa harap talaga ng bahay nila ihatid! Kulang na lang pag sigaw niya ng PARA!!! eh bababa ang driver din para buhatin ang hitad at dalhin ang prinsesa or reyna o prinsipe o hari hanggang sa paanan ng bahay nila. Leche talaga ang mga yan.

Kung may bayag man ang ating mga pinuno, at talagang may batas sa Pinas, eh dapat siguro takutin na talaga yang mga talipandas na yan na sobrang arte pagdating sa patakaran ng lansangan. Dapat, gawin ng pamahalaan ang mga sumusunod na patakaran:

1. Pag nahuli ang pedicab, tricycle, jeep o bus na nag loading and unloading sa mga lugar na bawal, tanggalin ng lisensiya ang driver at bawal na maging driver habang buhay. Sa totoo lang, wala siyang karapatan at rason para mag load and unload sa lugar na di dapat. Walang dahilan kahit na manganganak ang unano na sakay niya! Right there and then, sinusunog ang lisensiya at di na dapat bigyan kahit kelan ng LTO!

2. Ang pasahero na mahilig sumigaw ng PARA!!! ay dapat parusahan din. Kung sumakay at bumaba siya sa lugar na bawal, eh dapat may karapatan siyang masagasaan. Walang kasalanan ang nakasagasa sa kanya. Dapat may premyo pa nga ang makakasagasa sa mga pasaway na yan. Kung di sila masagasaan, ay dapat mahuli. Ang multa, kulong ng isang buwan na walang piyansa.

3. Ang mga linta at lintek na MMDA, pulis patola at trafik enforcers na mahilig mangotong ay dapat may death sentence to be implemented sa loob ng 24 oras mula sa pagkahuli sa akto. Kung masyadong mapanindig balahibo itong mga panukalang ito para sa mga human rights activists, eh puede naman gaanan. Putulin ang kamay ng mangongotong sa unang pagkakamali. Sa pangalawang pagkakamali, eh putulin na ang ulo. Matigas na masyado at di madala sa pagputol ng isang bahagi ng katawan.

4. Ang mga putres na pedestrian na tumatawid sa kalye natin ay isa pang balakid. Dahil lumaki tayo sa pambansang laro na patintero, eh ganun din akala ni Pepe at Pilar sa lansangan ng Pinas. Kaya ayan, hanggang paglaki, eh akala ng mga hitad na puede silang makipagpatintero kay Pantranco. Buwisit talaga. Gumagastos ako, mula sa buwis na binabayad ko, sa pagpatayo ng overpass para makatawid ng tama. Ang mga gago ay ayaw umakyat. Nakakapagod daw. Baka lumaki daw ang bayag nila. Baka mawala ang taba sa katawan nila. Kakakain lang daw nila at baka magka appendicitis daw sila. Ayyayay!!! Pag nakinig ka sa mga katwiran nila, aatakihin ka sa puso!! Lahat may rason. Aba eh kung ganun lang naman, gawin batas na bawal na gumawa ng overpass. Sayang lang ang pera. Kurakot lang ito ni Mayor. Eh wala naman gumagamit at walang pakinabang. Halimbawa na lang sa may amin sa Alabang. Sa harap ng Ayala Alabang Town Center eh may overpass na nakatumbad sa loob ng mall. Pero walang umaakyat dito. Ang dakilang Mayor namin na anak yata ni San Pedro ay gumuhit pa na pedestrian lane, mga 25 metrong layo mula sa overpass na ito. Dios mio!!! Talk about stupidity ano?!?!?! Eh talaga naman wala kang masabi dahil wala ngang mas stupid pa sa ginawang ito.

At ganyan ang Metro Manila mga kaibigan. Isang malaking lugar na punong puno ng mga maarte. Walang urban planning. Pulos kabig kung saan kikita. Sa kurakot. Sa kotong. Sa lagay. Walang disiplina. Palakasan. Short cut. Palakasan. Inaapi kami kasi kami'y dukha. Anak ng jueteng at tipaklong. Kung lahat ng mga yan eh pakikinggan natin, talagang paurong ang bansang ito.

Kahit na gaano kalapad mo gawin ang kalye, kahit na lagyan mo pa ng fountain and bawat plaza sa ilalim ng overpass, hanggang waland direksyon at ambisyon para ituwid and mali sa mga lansangan, eh talagang impiyerno ang pagmamaneho sa lansangan ng Pinas.

Eh ano pa nga ba, maarte talaga ang Pinoy!