Tag: Metro Manila

The futility of begging for foreign investment when your country sucks

September 22, 2014 benign0 23 Comments

Recent events have, yet again, highlighted the embarrassing way with which Filipinos and the government they elected to lead them are desperately scrambling to extricate themselves from systemic poverty after decades of misguided “development” approaches and serial promise breaking. Like many many previous presidents before him, Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III went on…

Culture, Development, Environment, Government, Politics, Society

Why Metro Manila’s horrific traffic will NEVER be ‘solved’

September 8, 2014 benign0 46 Comments

Just what we need. More requests for “patience” and “understanding”. That is what Malacanang beseeches Filipinos to show while the government pays lip service to the decades-long but fruitless effort to “solve” Metro Manila’s infamously hellish traffic. According to Malacanang mouthpiece Herminio Coloma Jr, the government puts foremost importance in the livelihood of Filipinos and…

Development, Economy, Government, Lifestyle

Continued loss suffered by Gilas Pilipinas in the 2014 FIBA Wold Cup mirrors Philippine history

September 4, 2014 benign0 73 Comments

Regard for sport mirrors society. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Philippines. Last night, Gilas Pilipinas was handily beaten by Puerto Rico in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain after literally dropping the ball — losing an early lead it enjoyed over the first half of the game. The game was…

Culture, Development, Economy, Government, Media, Politics, Society

DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya’s epic MRT public relations fail

August 29, 2014 benign0 14 Comments

Not surprising. Political observers gave Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Secretary Jun Abaya a unanimous Fail in his most recent public relations stunt. Yesterday, the 28th August, Abaya stepped up to a self-imposed challenge to prove Manila’s decrepit Metro Rail Transit was “safe”. The MRT has been beleaguered by recent high-profile mishaps, among them…

Development, Government, Lifestyle, Politics

Senator Pia Cayetano: Some proper perspective is due the whole Torre de Manila brouhaha

August 28, 2014 benign0 10 Comments

While I find a bit justified the whole stink being raised around the way the Torre de Manila highrise condominiums being constructed in Manila by developer DMCI Homes is supposedly “ruining” the view of the Rizal Monument, I think we are missing the bigger picture. Metro Manila is an ugly city. And that ugliness did…

Civics, Crime, Development, Government, Lifestyle, Media, Politics, Society

How can Metro Manila ever improve if Filipino politicians do not take public transport?

August 19, 2014February 1, 2022 benign0 59 Comments

Metro Manila is a dump. And it is getting worse, not better. The city is being crushed under the weight of its own success as a magnet for domestic migrants looking for jobs the Philippines’ barren hinterlands cannot provide. But why is Metro Manila, the Philippines’ premiere economic and cultural centre, not improving? Not only…

Development, Government, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

Traffic has sentenced every Metro Manila resident to prison time befitting murderers

August 18, 2014September 14, 2022 benign0 45 Comments

The mounting desperation of the average Metro Manila commuter is becoming so palpable you can taste it in the air every morning when you come out the door of your home and face the hard slog to work. It is utterly depressing to face a day where the first thing you will be experiencing is…

Crime, Development, Environment, Government, Lifestyle

Filipinos see a better future in foreign war zones than in the Philippines

August 5, 2014 benign0 19 Comments

You know a country has really sunk to an unprecedented depth of wretchedness when its own citizens would prefer to remain in a war zone over taking their chances on a return to the “safety” of their homeland. Such is what describes the rather embarrassing situation in the Philippine government’s efforts to repatriate up to…

Development, Economy, Government, Lifestyle