Home              Forum             Forex Rates              Archived Editorials              Contact Us



Metro Manilans Deserve a Much Better Public Transportation System
A commuter's nightmare. Photo: Alvin Kasiban / Manila Bulletin

fter the stringent lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the reopening of Metro Manila has brought to the fore the abysmal public transportation system in this sprawling metropolis of over 13 million souls. Just getting people from point A to point B in a timely and civilized manner seems impossible in Metro Manila. This disastrous situation was created through decades of neglect by public officials—from the local level, all the way up to the national level—who never bothered to fix a broken public transportation system.

Commuting via public transportation in Metro Manila is nothing short of a hellish experience for those who have to put up with it daily. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, in October 2019, accepted a challenge from Anakbayan—a nationwide youth organization to commute to work via public transportation. Unfortunately, Panelo used his one-day commute as a 'photo opportunity' and then declared that there is no transport crisis in Metro Manila. Panelo made that conclusion, even though he began at 4 AM; started from a closer distance than his actual Marikina residence; and arrived at work 45 minutes late.

We're not here to single out Panelo, only to point out that his actions explain why public transportation in the Philippines is in such a dismal state: public officials who are in a position to call attention to, or fix the problem, won't even admit the problem exists. These officials, past and present, stick their heads in the sand and convince themselves that everything is working fine. They also delude themselves into believing that people are happy with the current system.

That, of course that could not be further from the truth. Students and office workers leave their homes long before dawn to make it to school or work on time. In inclement weather, an already hellish commute gets much worse. And if all that was not enough, the COVID-19 pandemic, further reduced public transportation in the metropolis. An already intolerable situation just got much worse.

Filipinos, by nature, keep their heads down and hardly complain. It is an admirable trait. Unfortunately, politicians take advantage and exploit it. Instead of rolling up their sleeves and doing the hard work needed to change things for the better, they instead act busy but accomplish next to nothing. And because their constituents aren't complaining, they pat themselves on the back and convince themselves that they're doing a great job. Pinoy politicians have been playing this game for decades, which explains why Metro Manila has this crushing problem today.

Until Metro Manilans replace their incompetent politicians with real public servants who will tackle the difficult work needed to change the system, the "commute from Hell" will continue, and likely worsen over time. Pinoys deserve much better than this. Getting out of bed at 3:00 AM to make it to school or work by 8:00 AM; what a shame! Published 6/24/2020







© 2020 PHILIPPINENEWSLINKS.COM Privacy Policy