When Manila Commuting Turned Upside Down

16 September, 201016 September, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 1 Comment

It’s currently my first week at my new job. After a year, I’m back at graveyard shift. Yup, I’m back where Edward Cullen and his family take on a rampage to the innocent bystanders. Oops! Not for the green minded! My daytime IS night time. 11 PM to 8 AM!

Although the feeling of nausea and sleepiness is part of this schedule, I am however, blessed by this fact: Going to work is as easy as 45 minutes or even less! Yes, people of the republic-no longer I am subject to the tenacious and seemingly endless cycle of Buhos system of Cavite! No standing at the bus, kissing the doors, being harassed by the bus conductor or by manyaks, and most of all-goodbye sardinas sa bus!
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08-23-2010: Bloodshed at Quirino Grandstand Manila

23 August, 201023 August, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 8 Comments

Quirino Grandstand Flags. The location of the hostage drama

Indeed, Quirino Grandstand in Luneta, central Manila, capital of the Philippines, is one historical place. It was here where several presidents took their oaths, celebrate the independence of the country from the United States, concerts and a whole lot more. It is a landmark dedicated to the former President Elpidio Quirino. The Grandstand that I guess all Filipinos know and synonymous to Luneta and Rizal Park-just several meters away from the place. On August 01, 2010, the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, took oath here. On August 23, 2010-a massacre unfolds as a former policeman took hostage of Hong Kong nationals in a stand-off that left the hostage and several hostages dead, and a mark of trauma in the image of the Philippines in the international community. Luneta has seen another blood spilt over her domain.

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Sat Siri Akal: Spice and Prayers at Iloilo’s Nanak Darbar Temple

10 August, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III Leave a comment

Iloilo Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple

For so long, I have been looking for an authentic Indian food in Metro Manila. Authentic yet affordable. However, it seems that international cooking here in the nation’s capital is equivalent to dollar rates! I have to prepare at least P300 to P400 just to satisfy my craving for international food-and one of them is from the Indian sub-continent.

Good thing though, my dad brought masala chai from India. However, my craving didn’t diminished. One night in Iloilo (on a short weekend vacation) my friend Tara and the rest of her barkada invited me for a short “cultural immersion” in Mandurriao District. Curious, when she said that we’re going to Nanak Darbar Temple-the Indian Sikh temple in Ciudad Iloilo!

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The Fiasco at Baclaran: Commuter’s Misery with MMDA Dispatch

4 August, 201017 August, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 3 Comments

Roxas Boulevard near Baclaran

PARANAQUE CITY, PHILIPPINES — Today is Baclaran Day, or the day when the devotees of Our Lady of Perpetual Help converge at Baclaran Church in Parañaque City, one of Metro Manila’s busiest and most congested districts. As expected, early morning will be the start of the traffic jam that normally occurs every Wednesdays. But this Wednesday, August 4, was no longer ordinary for me. MMDA failed big time! It failed the commuters way big time!

At around 6:10 AM, our bus from Cavite, bound for EDSA, entered Baclaran’s bus stop for the usual dispatch. They have a new chairman, a former mayor of Tagaytay City. So like always whenever there’s a new king to lead his men, they implement the traffic rules strictly. So those who disobeyed are instantly reprimanded or apprehended. Just to play it safe, the driver of the bus entered the dispatch bus stop area at Baclaran, rather than risking to pay P1,000 fine…from that time on…it was ‘haynakupo!’ for most of the passengers. It’s Baclaran Day, obviously you’re entering the eye of the storm! (more…)

How Does It Feel Like Being a Caviteño Commuter?

1 July, 20102 July, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 17 Comments

Waiting Commuters at Talaba, Bacoor, Cavite -- ang tagal dyan kahit bukana na ng Maynila!

The first is, have you tried combat commuting? I think if you live in Manila, it is essential to know combat commuting. Its a war waged every single weekday in the Philippine capital. The climax of the war at Hell’s Gate? Rush hour madness. Everyday, people try to cram themselves in buses, jeepneys and metros. Well, asi es la vida en Manila! Can’t deal with it? Might as well leave for the provincias.

Now, for a Cavite resident like me, traveling from home to work is a fact of life. Manila has become crowded and the urban expansion reached the doorsteps of its neighboring provinces, one of which is Cavite. There may be 12 million residents in Metro Manila but including the Greater Manila Area (encompassing Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan), we may even be comparable with the population of that of Mexico City, Tokyo or Mumbai! Cavite has the largest share of GMA residents-3 million people, tw0-thirds of it lives in towns near Metro Manila and along Aguinaldo Highway-the sole main artery of the province. Three million, the most populous province in the country-and with real estate blooming like lumot in the pond, its like a heart chocked with cholesterol! After all, Cavite IS a bedroom of Metro Manila.

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The 112th Philippine Independence Day Celebrations at Luneta: A Reflection

19 June, 201019 June, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III Leave a comment

A century and 12 years later, the Republic of the Philippines celebrated its freedom from the Spanish Empire with a float, performance and parade gala at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta, Manila. Since this is the last year of the outgoing president Gloria Arroyo, the government allotted PhP10 million for the whole programme. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (Yes, another name change. It was National Historical Institute) was the main organizer of the programme “Kalayaan 2010″ (Freedom 2010). I wasn’t able to see the traditional flag raising at Aguinaldo’s House at Kawit (its too early! Good luck at baka trapik sa Binakayan galing dito sa Imus!) so I went to Luneta that afternoon for the civic and military parade.

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The Legacy of Flying Budget

22 January, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 4 Comments

By Stanley Palisada

In the 2003 Gwyneth Paltrow starrer “View from the Top”, Candice Bergen who played accomplished Flight Attendant Sally Weston said “Gone are the days when people traveled in style”.

In the era of budget airlines, people take a plane as though it was just a bus. Flying today is like riding a pedicab or a PUJ where comfort or service does not matter as long as the airline delivers its promise to “get you there”- and in one piece (literally, as you’re dead broke per additional baggage). (more…)

Fortress by the River: Fort Santiago of Manila

19 January, 201018 January, 2010 Bernardo Arellano III 1 Comment

After lunch, we head back to Intramuros and went to our ultimate destination: Fort Santiago. Why ultimate? Because it is where Jose Rizal was incarcerated for the last days of his life. Before he was shot in Luneta (err…Bagumbayan), he was imprisoned here by the Spanish authorities due to accusations of instigating mass revolts that are erupting all over Luzon and some parts of the country.

What is it about Fort Santiago? Except that it is popular as a fieldtrip destination of kids and tourists, it is one focal point of authority during the Spanish colonial era…a manifestation of foreign grip in the Philippines. It is located at the northernmost part of the walled city, like a sentinel guarding the mouth of Pasig River and the walled city itself. Its location is as strategic as it is important to the Spanish crown colony, as most of the military power emanates from this fuerza real. (more…)

An Ode to Bonifacio: Monumento of Caloocan City

30 November, 200929 November, 2011 Bernardo Arellano III 2 Comments

Monumento

Monumento, one of the few places in Metro Manila that earned its name as a hub and a bustling commercial center. Lagi nating dinadaanan ang Monumento ni Gat Andres Bonifacio pero di natin napapansin na isa ito sa mga pinakadakilang monumento sa ating republika. For most of us, Monumento in the northern Metro Manila city of Caloocan serves as a landmark for shopping and for those who would like to go up in Central and Northern Luzon since buses and jeepneys pass by this busy thoroughfare at the intersection of Rizal Avenue Extension, MacArthur Highway, Letre and the historical EDSA. This is Caloocan’s most famous landmark.

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