Tag: Metro Manila

Metro Manila had long ago set itself up for its own destruction by flooding

August 8, 2012 benign0 54 Comments

According to Mark McDonald in a New York Times blog post, the recent floods that hit Metro Manila this week “seem to have caused little public anger over further municipal dysfunction in the densely populated capital of more than 10 million” and that, instead, “Filipinos demonstrated a remarkable civic spirit as they shared news of…

Culture, Development, Government, Society

Much of Metro Manila may soon be permanently underwater!

August 1, 2012October 17, 2015 benign0 17 Comments

As rains from the latest typhoon “Gener” (international name: Saola) hit Manila, waves rising out of Manila Bay left much of iconic Roxas Boulevard flooded, including the United States Embassy which was forced to close Wednesday, the 1st of August 2012. By then the death toll had already reportedly risen to 14 and more than…

Environment

Flooding in Metro Manila: When will Filipinos get angry enough?

July 21, 2012July 8, 2015 benign0 6 Comments

So Metro Manilans, I hear, are stuck in traffic and floods this weekend. Again. And what’s this I hear? Oh, outrage. But where was that outrage when the problem was not this big yet and all there was were mere signs of problems brewing? I’ll tell you where that outrage was. There was none. In…

Culture, Development, Society

MMDA is living on a prayer instead of thinking about solving EDSA’s traffic problems

July 7, 2012June 19, 2013 Ilda 48 Comments

It seems Filipino public servants are incapable of thinking outside the square when it comes to addressing the problems that plague the nation. Most of them rely on prayer to solve issues rather than apply science and technology — an approach that could actually yield permanent solutions. Take the case of the Chairman for Metro…

Civics, Culture, Development, Government, Religion, Society

MMDA EDSA blessing: Did the holy water evaporate before it hit the pavement?

July 6, 2012 benign0 16 Comments

I see these poignant prayers on Twitter every now and then. “God willing it won’t be traffic [sic] on Edsa today”. I’m pretty sure such prayers are uttered at least once per 1.3 person per day by the average EDSA motorist. That translates to hundreds of thousands of such prayer said each year in beseeching…

Culture, Government, Religion, Society

What Metro Manila billboards tell us about the Filipino character

July 19, 2011July 19, 2011 benign0 18 Comments

Driving up or down EDSA, the main road transport artery through the Philippine megalopolis of Metro Manila, is like navigating a badly-designed website. The huge billboards that line the iconic thoroughfare competing for the attention of motorists and their passengers are monuments to the aesthetic sensibilities of Filipinos. Manila, after all, is the cultural capital…

Culture, Environment, Media

Metro Manila smoking crackdown: another case of sweating the small stuff

May 30, 2011 benign0 10 Comments

So I read that the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is going to “crackdown” on smoking in the metropolis. Interesting. Apparently, the legal basis for this “crackdown” is Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. Note the year: 2003. Makes one wonder what our so-called “law enforcement” officials have been doing for…

Civics, Environment, Government, Society