See the picture above? Its like every urban dweller’s dream! EDSAng walang trapik and vehicles you can count by fingers! Yup, that’s our very own busiest thorougfare in the country…Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, or EDSA! Sana nga araw araw ganito! Ay apo! But wait, there’s more…most of Manila’s roads were almost empty…whoa! Now that’s quite creepy…parang War of the Worlds ata? Hmmm…not!
This was December 26 2008…a day after Christmas and people are expecting a long holiday…really really long! In fact, the longest holiday the Filipinos have experienced in the 21st Century so far! Ergo, the exodus from this humongous dormitory called Metro Manila and back to the provinces. Yes, although the Metro and its suburbs may reach 18 million in an ordinary day…right now it feels like it dropped to just a million or even less! Hehe! The metro is a big dormitory I tell you. People come here to work and spend holidays in the countryside!
Now, go to Cubao and Munoz or Pasay…and the sidewalks were lined up with last minute commuters. Mga parekoy, nung Pasko pa umalis ang mga bus at nasa probinsya na…maybe they weren’t lucky to hitch a ride on a bus on Christmas Eve. Anyway, mahaba pa naman ang bakasyon so most of them were willing to wait with their big bags and boxes of pasalubong under the heat of the sun.
Now…with Manila desolate, I thought I’ll be enjoying a flawless and uncongested driving. I was wrong…the cars went on a holiday…and along with a desolated Manila is a congested countryside! Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
04
2010
The Fiasco at Baclaran: Commuter’s Misery with MMDA Dispatch
by Berniemack Arellano
August 4, 2010
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! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Baclaran, bus dispatch, commentary, EDSA, land transportation, Manila, Metro Manila, MMDA, Parañaque, Philippines, traffic, traffic congestion, traffic jam