Tag: Public Transport

Skyway roadkill: Cats seemingly dropping from the sky onto Manila elevated highway

April 3, 2014April 3, 2014 benign0 6 Comments

Motorists who use the Philippines’ Skyway, an elevated express tollway linking Manila’s southern suburbs to the central business district of Makati City have for some time observed flattened carcasses of cats littering the pavement. The baffling roadkill has raised the question of how the animals had somehow made their way onto the elevated structure. A…

Civics, Lifestyle, Tech Talk

The country we’ve made for ourselves: why we need an outsider’s perspective

March 25, 2014November 22, 2017 benign0 2 Comments

The following is a copy of the Foreword I wrote for my friend Ben Kritz’s new book Same Planet, Different World: An Outsider’s Inside View of the Philippines. You can download the book from Amazon here onto Kindle or any of a variety of apps also supported by Amazon. We in our clique of the…

Civics, Development, Economy, Government, Money Talks, Politics, Society

Do Filipinos speak too loudly and in an annoying manner in public spaces?

March 8, 2014March 8, 2014 benign0 117 Comments

A letter posted by a disgruntled Singaporean frustrated over being unable to get a bit of peace and quiet in a public bus singled out Filipinos in a post on the site The Real Singapore. The author of the letter who signed off as “H” described the “nightmare” of finding himself in a bus full…

Culture, Lifestyle, Society

Manila’s Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) stations: Disasters waiting to happen?

February 27, 2014 benign0 27 Comments

It seems MRT-3 stations are becoming potential death traps as dangerous crowd control practices are now being used to “manage” the increasing volumes of passengers using the line. As seen in the following photo, passengers are made to queue on stairs leading to the train platforms packed like sardines. The photo was posted by a…

Development, Government, Lifestyle

Skyway Stage 3 construction: Filipinos to ‘sacrifice’ yet again as Metro Manila braces for years of standstill traffic

February 17, 2014 benign0 53 Comments

True to form, Filipinos are abuzz again with half-assed ideas on how best to cope with the heavier-than-heavy traffic that will snarl Metro Manila as construction on the long-overdue “Skyway Stage 3” project which will link the South Luzon Tollway (SLT) to the North Luzon Expressway (NLE) via an elevated six-lane 15-kilometre elevated highway through…

Civics, Development, Government, Lifestyle

Ph gov’t hopelessly inutile when it comes to prosecuting homicidal bus companies

December 17, 2013 benign0 41 Comments

It is baffling how Filipinos continue to be “surprised” or even “shocked” by the deadly toll resulting from the animal-like driving behaviour of Filipino bus drivers. The account of a motorist who witnessed the most recent “accident” involving a Don Mariano Transit bus that killed 18 people is a familiar one… Irene Sisperes, a motorist…

Crime, Culture, Government, Lifestyle

PNoy and Mar Roxas caught looking like fools on video again at SM North ‘Martilyo Gang’ heist

December 16, 2013 benign0 47 Comments

The Philippines’ dynamic duo, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas are at it again. This time the scene of the most recent “national crisis” is a heist allegedly perpetrated by the notorious “Martilyo Gang” at the SM North Mall Sunday night. According to SM…

Crime, Government, Politics, Society

Ban on provincial buses on Metro Manila roads made commuting a living hell

August 8, 2013 Ilda 47 Comments

They say nothing dies harder than a bad idea. That saying is nowhere truer than in the Philippines where bad ideas replace one bad idea after another. What’s worse is that the bad ideas often come from government agencies that affect millions of Filipinos and make their lives a living hell. No wonder international best…

Development, Government, Politics