Pass the Fare Money

It goes without saying that traffic in that hellhole, Manila is downright intolerable. Congress plans to grant the President "emergency powers" to solve what is now considered a national crisis. Right, because Manila's problems are also problems for the rest of us backwoods yokels. 

Autocalypse

In fairness, the traffic situation in Cebu is nearing Manila levels of awful too.

When one uses the term "emergency powers", what comes to mind is usually the image of troops deploying, collapsing buildings, flash floods, typhoons, epidemics etc. It really says a lot that the traffic situation is so horrible that it's considered on the level of a natural calamity, as if people are starving in their cars. Oh, but this is a man-made disaster, don't you forget that. So now Congress wants to undo years of poor planning and/or outright neglect and wants Duterte to cut through the bureaucracy and get things done.

While Congress probably has the ability to grant the President this power, as some legal smart ass can probably look up/cook up one,  there are some genuine concerns. What powers exactly are they giving the President? For how long? How long is this "emergency" going to be and when will it be considered over? Does it cover the entire Philippines or just that cesspit, Manila? What other agencies will be involved, if any? What is the system of accountability in case of abuses? Have you ever noticed that news articles covering this issue are terribly vague about everything?

Unless armed rebels are actually blocking the public roads, it's hard to imagine what the people are honestly expecting the President to do. Has it ever happened in the past that a President was given emergency powers to solve what is basically a municipal issue?

Ah, there it is. Enough questions. It's time to analyze.

Here's a thought: giving emergency powers to the president will not allow something to be done which cannot already be done now without having to give president emergency powers. Really, giving the president these powers will not add anything new to the mix. All it does is pass the buck from the people who are supposed to be in charge of the problem to the president and THAT'S THE POINT of this whole exercise; to pass the buck.

It's not about the traffic.

Nobody wants to admit this but enacting genuine solutions to the traffic problem is going to be painful. For example; the government wants to widen the roads or build a new highway. In a metropolis like Manila, that will require exercising eminent domain which means paying just compensation. You're gonna have to pay the landowners and in some parts of Manila, you might as well be donating your organs too. If the government wants to expand the MRT network, the government is gonna have to spend a lot of money too and government officials (if they're really serious about solving the problem) will be forced to curb their tendency for corruption. Even reclaiming land occupied by squatters to make room for new infrastructure, will be costly and not just in monetary terms if you know what that means. To add to all of this, Metro Manila is composed of many cities so that means the local politicians will have to -ugh- put aside their politicking and work together! L'horreur!

So really, the geniuses in charge don't want to have to deal with this. Decades this problem has simmered and the people and institutions that were supposed to be on top of this just wet the bed. Whether it's a lack of political will, resources or just plain laziness, they don't want to have to get their act together and would rather just let the president tell them what to do. Besides, the president is still popular and can absorb the negative repercussions of the hard decisions that will have to be made. If that doesn't work, he can put on the tough guy act and ram whatever he wants done through. Ladies and gentlemen, if you've ever wondered what's so appealing about a dictatorship, here you go. 

Isn't it ironic that in a time when people are supposedly clamoring for "federalism", they're begging for a centralized response to a problem the local governments are too impotent to fix? Pathetic.

So if anyone talks about the president needing emergency powers to solve the traffic problems, know that that person is an idiot unwittingly engaging in the government's mind games. The talk of emergency powers serves a second purpose. Instead of asking about how we're going to fix the problem, the question now is when are we giving the president emergency powers. Excuse me, powers to do what, again? Oh, see? It's the president now who has to tell us the how of the matter. Not only are they passing the problem to him but also the responsibility to come up with solutions. In the end, the government is still stalling even now!

I want off this ride.

11/18/15 Smile

Have you ever been to a stupid social gathering that you didn't want to go to but had to? You go from a foul murderous expression to an upbeat smile because you have to keep appearances and be sociable. The APEC is pretty much this. Manila went from a shithole to pleasantville in no time. It was actually nice to be out and about today and there wasn't even any traffic for me since people were forced to stay home. No street beggars harassing me either. 

I had a funny thought. As soon as this APEC thing is over, is Manila going to instantly relapse in like, a second? Imagine that as soon as the last delegate steps foot on his plane, everything just collapses like a sudden gust of wind to a house of cards.

It's all a house of cards, I tell you.

11/13/2015 Vanishing Act

Across from where I'm staying, there's a 7-Eleven. This 7-Eleven, and many others like it, had a bunch of mendicants camping outside its doors. They would ask for money and even any food or drink you were carrying with you. Call me heartless but I think it's rude to ask a person enjoying a cold beverage or tasty snack to essentially hand over all of it just like that. 

And why do beggars have to physically touch you anyway? Since when did they decide this was a socially acceptable thing to do? Who enjoys being touched by people who are, let's face it folks, filthy and smelly? If they disrespect a person enough to invade his personal space, why do they think they're entitled to that person's generosity? I give change if they're not pushy, which is rare so it works for me. Invasion of personal space is where I draw the line.

Anyway, I don't have to worry about them anymore. They're gone! No, I didn't kill them. I suspect their vanishing act had something to do with the upcoming APEC nonsense that Manila is hosting. Just like what Marcos did before, we gotta hide the poor people. We can't let those rich foreigners see the horrible, soul-crushing poverty the people live in.

Thankfully, the government assures us that the street people have been taken care of "humanely". Marcos used the crude method of putting up walls to hide the shantytowns. We've taken it a step further. It's more of an art now really. It takes quite a bit of skill to make people disappear. Where have they gone? Who knows where the government shuffles them around. I remember sometime ago in Cebu, I think, where the poor were hidden away in some fancy resort (all on taxpayer dime). 

For the record, the government never says they're hiding them. They simply say that they relocate the homeless as part of a welfare program. The fact that the relocation is happening just in time for the APEC is purely coincidence! We do this kind of stuff for the homeless "all the time", at least, all the time when an international summit is happening.

They called them "relocations" or "resettlements" of "housing projects" or whatever. I wonder what they're calling it now. I prefer the term "mandatory vacations". It has a nice ring to it, no?

I don't blame the government for doing what it does. I can understand the reasoning. We don't want the street folk harassing the foreign guests. But there's something profoundly dehumanizing about it. Were that all our society's problems could be hidden away in the dark; out of sight therefore, out of mind. Hey, nobody cared who the Lumads were until someone exposed them to the light. Society doesn't really care about the less fortunate. You knew that already. Is it the poor that we're hiding or is it our own cruel indifference?

As the song goes, "Too many people suffer in silence".

11/10/15 Restricted

I just realized that there are two McDonalds within the same walking distance from my place. I live in a corner and there's one McDonalds on each side within fifteen seconds of walking distance. Today, I went to the nearby mall to eat. I could have sworn I saw a Jollibee within a Jollibee. Am I going insane?

Getting around Manila is very difficult. I heard stories from my mother about how well organized and efficient mass transit was in Japan. I imagine her vacation there was very enjoyable since getting from one place to another was so easy. You could fit a lot of activities in a day if movement weren't such an issue.

Manila is another story. The trend is that sections of the city and new developments go for some kind of "self-sufficiency". Everything has to be nearby since going far takes up too much time with all the traffic congestion and whatnot. Hence, we get McDonalds to the left and right, Jollibees within Jollibees and huge malls. 

Ah yes, the malls. What could be more contained than a mall? It has everything. Some even have dedicated chapels where you can attend Sunday mass. Personally, I think it's in profane to hold mass in what is essentially a temple to our own golden calves but the priests must go where they must; where the people are.

I guess that's part of the reason why it feels so oppressive here. I feel constrained in movement like I can't go where I want to. It's not just the traffic. Just a few days ago, a taxi driver tried to put one over on my mother. The driver wouldn't turn on his meter and demanded cash upfront to drive her to the airport and that if she didn't like it, she could just find another cab. What an asshole. Some drivers refuse outright to take you to certain places if they think it's too troublesome. A lot won't even give you back your change. Jeepney drivers are exactly as you would expect. The bus drivers are reckless and double park while waiting forever for more passengers before they leave. The rail system is decrepit and could collapse any minute. Have you seen the rail cars? I saw one chug past and it looked pitiful.

I've been wondering what's been eating me about this place and I think I found part of the reason why I feel so off. I feel restricted. I feel like I can't go anywhere without it unnecessarily eating a lot of my time.

Dan Brown was right. This is the gates of hell and what's worse, there's a really long line too.

It's disturbing to think that Cebu City is essentially going the same direction.

11/05/15 Manila

I don't like Manila. It's not a secret. Manila is an overcrowded dump and anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. It's hard to believe that there are actually people who claim to love this place.

Trips that would normally take ten minutes by simple distance takes forty thanks to traffic. Street after street of nothing but the same stores and fast food chains next to piles of garbage against a backdrop of grey, grimy concrete. The people are indifferent but exude an unmistakable vibe of hostility as they push past the armies of beggars to jaywalk across clogged roads.

I admit I may be overreacting but honestly, I really do hate this place as long as I can remember and nothing can change that.

11/03/15 Alien

Full disclosure; I can barely speak Tagalog. Language is learned through constant practice and since I never saw the need for it, I never learned to speak it. I don't watch Tagalog shows too so I didn't pick it up that way..

It's frustrating to be reduced to using very basic and rudimentary Tagalog. People probably think I'm some kind of deficient.

I might as well be an alien from outer space.

11/02/15 My World

I would have blogged yesterday but it's busy work settling in. I'm in Manila waiting for my shot at the Philippines' most overhyped board exam. My laptop won't connect to the internet for some reason so I'm writing on a tablet. It's a pain so I'll keep these things short.

This tiny room is my world now.

Room With A View

I'm currently staying at this bizarre hotel in Manila.

 

Why "bizarre"? There's a large glass window in the wall between the bathroom and the bedroom such that a person lying down on the bed has a nice view of the person taking a shower. Oh, don't worry though; there's Venetian blinds in the bathroom that almost go all the way down! Management thought of everything, huh?

 

I don't get why there's a glass window. I hurt my brain thinking up of answers. Maybe the place used to be some kind of erotic pleasure house where men can see prostitutes bathe or something.

 

What the hell...

The Gates of Hell

The Metro Manila Development Authority and all the social media justice warriors are up in arms and full of outrage at Dan Brown's latest novel. In the book Inferno, Manila is described as such; “Manila has six-hour jams, suffocating air and a horrifying sex trade whose workers consisted primarily of young children, many of whom have been sold to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed.”

They can whine and shout "Unfair!" all they want at a fictional novel but the truth hurts doesn't it? Honestly, are they implying Manila is some sort of perfect paradise? I've been to Manila and it isn't that great. I thought it was horrible actually. 

Manila is a concrete hell with traffic jams that add an hour to what would normally be a twenty minute drive. The urban sprawl and grime is near post-nuclear apocalyptic and the squalor of the shanty towns and slum areas makes one wonder how those poor wretches resembling human beings can even survive let alone reproduce as much as they do. Pollution is everywhere; in the streets, in the rivers and in the air. It's positively dystopic with advertising billboards exhorting the masses to consume while people starve outside the gated communities of the rich.

I don't know the ins and outs of the sex trade but it's not totally unbelievable parents would pimp their children for money. Sad to say but poor people will do anything (except stop having children) to get a good meal.

People getting mad over a book instead of the actual problems facing the city really need to get their heads examined. Better yet, why don't they step outside their favorite air-conditioned Starbucks and take a fucking look around.

But I'm trying to be an optimist, right? Things can change for the better. I'm sure it will now that the Manilenos have elected an alcoholic, philander, two-bit actor who also dropped out of school and was actually convicted of plunder. Way to go, you morons... er I mean, Pinoy Pride! Democracy! People Power!

I hope Cebu never goes the way of those geniuses up north.

Flood

There was a big flood in Manila. People died and plenty still suffering.

Just when you think you have people all figured out as selfish, evil assholes, the world just proves you wrong. People are helping each other out and giving support better than the government ever could.

Everyone has to do their part and help including me and you. Got to donate to the local church or something...