Yesterday’s heavy rains caused major flooding in many parts of Manila. I got stuck in traffic for two hours on Nagtahan bridge because the stretch from Governor Forbes up to A.H. Lacson was submerged in knee-deep flood. And, this was at around 10:00 pm, a good three or four hours after the heavy downpour had ended.

But, ok, I can be a little more understanding here. The flooding was not entirely your fault. You’ve been doing your job but the garbage just keeps piling up to inevitably clog the city’s sewers and waterways. That’s benefit of the doubt for you.

However, I cannot forgive you for your failure to send out your personnel to assist the hundreds of motorists who got stuck in that area. This you failed to do in spite of the fact that your Traffic Engineering Center was just a stone’s throw away. Correct me please if I am wrong but isn’t that facility of yours located somewhere there along Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard? I believe it’s just a few meters away from — drumroll please — Nagtahan Bridge!

If only your highly esteemed traffic enforcers had been doing their jobs they could have positioned themselves just before the Nagtahan Bridge to warn motorists that the road ahead was impassable. Had someone been there to give us that useful piece of information we would have been able to avoid all that hassle.

Coincidentally, this whole thing happened just as a small group of pro-active thinking bloggers are engaged in a debate over the importance of having a platform with another blogger who happens to be a supporter of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. This BF supporter is against Platform, Plez an ongoing effort to get politicial candidates to come out with their respective platforms. Why he’s against it no one can really say for certain. Anyway, this BF supporter was challenged to provide information about Fernando’s stand on various issues of concern. However, for some reason, he just won’t do it. Oh well it’s his loss.

But, i’m digressing. I’m ranting here to send the word out that the MMDA is either padding its figures on flood reduction or is simply lying through its teeth. Last night’s flooding in Governor Forbes up to A.H. Lacson and other parts of Manila was very clear proof that the agency still has a long way to go before it can make any claim of success in the area of flood reduction.

I also want to highlight the fact that the MMDA FAILED to send out its people to assist all of us who got stranded there on Nagtahan Bridge last night. Makes me want to ask the obvious question. What are taxpayers paying you for anyway?

1. government subsidy for election campaigns (Fernando)

2. empowering local government units with increased budgets (Binay)

3. eliminating the “pwede na yan” (that will do) mentality (Legarda)

I am in favor of Fernando’s idea of passing the burden of financing election campaigns to the government. One obvious benefit is that it would level the playing field and give virtual unknowns equal opportunity to make themselves known to the electorate. Voters would then have more choices other than the usual faces.

I’m just not sure if having this set-up could really help put a stop to corruption as some people including Fernando believe. Maybe it could if elected officials only steal to pay back their election sponsors or to recoup their own expenses. Unfortunately, that is not the only reason why graft and corruption occurs. If it were then let’s not allow our politicians to spend another centavo from their own pockets.

Related to this, I think it’s about time  media entities especially the big TV and radio networks consider providing real public service by offering free airtime to all candidates. Anyone care to be the first? Kapuso? Kapamilya? As an incentive, I promise to be a loyal viewer of whoever will be the first to heed this call. Religious stations don’t count.

Moving on…

Binay’s idea of empowering local government units or LGUs by increasing their budgets also caught my attention even though it is nothing new. It’s an idea that has been floated around by other politicians in the past.

In an ideal world, giving local government units bigger budgets and free hand to manage it should be enough to ensure the delivery of better government services. The only problem is — our world is far from ideal. Binay himself has said during the ANC Forum that favoritism still comes into play in the granting of budgets. He noted that if the LGU official is not in the good graces of the powers that be he or she would have a hard time securing the funds he needs to effectively govern his area of jurisdiction.

There is one other issue that should be identified with regards to the disbursement of budgets. It’s about checks and balances. This is an issue that needs addressing even under the present set-up. Without proper accounting and auditing the risk of misappropriation becomes greater. Someone should closely monitor the use of any and all government funds. In fact, those doing the monitoring should be monitored as well. And, if we really want to look at it in the extreme, the monitors of the monitors should also be monitored. It’s that or we come up with a measure that would force corrupt officials to control their thievery.

Finally, let’s look at Senator Legarda’s idea that we do away with the “pwede na yan” (that will do) mentality. If I didn’t have anything to add to the idea I would have simply brushed it aside as just another motherhood statement.

In any case, Legarda correctly identified this albeit indirectly as a flaw in the Filipino character. Many, if not all of us, have been guilty of having such a mentality. It’s sad. As a nation, we should once and for all rid ourselves of this kind of mentality if not we condemn ourselves to an eternity of mediocrity. Unfortunately, purging ourselves of this mindset is  easier said than done especially where older generations are concerned. It is the younger generations who still have a chance of not developing such a mindset. That is, if we, the older generations, will try to create for them an environment that punishes mediocrity and rewards excellence. We should have done this yesterday.

Come May 2010, this “pwede na” mentality will again rear its ugly head. Many of us will vote for panderers, liars, thieves, and their ilk. Some will do so because they  don’t know any better. Others because they genuinely believe their choice. Sadly, most will do so because they are convinced the lesser evil is “pwede na.”

What has the MMDA done so far? It has installed pink fences along major roads to designate assigned areas for private vehicles, public utility vehicles and even pedestrians. It has maintained the implementation of the number coding scheme. It has widened a number of roads. All these have proved to be effective in improving the flow of vehicles to some extent. I sincerely hope the MMDA comes out with an ultimate solution, although I seriously doubt that is possible.

Let’s also give some credit to the traffic enforcers of the various local government units. Their participation in traffic management also has some value.

Still, despite their combined efforts, Metro Manila traffic remains as chaotic as ever.

In my opinion, solving Metro Manila’s traffic problem requires more than just putting up fences, limiting the number of vehicles and building wider roads. I think the traffic problem would be best addressed with some serious legislation.

My appreciation of the traffic situation stems from having experienced moving around Metro Manila on board my own vehicle or any of the available public transportation such as the MRT, buses, FX taxis and jeepneys (I avoid riding regular taxis because I don’t like setting myself up to be robbed). Simply put, I am both a commuter and a motorist. In either case, my observation always ends with the conclusion that the root cause of the problem is the lack of discipline among PUV drivers.

Some may argue that many private motorists also lack discipline. That is true. But, as far as I’m concerned, the bigger blame for the problem goes to PUV drivers. It is my contention that many private motorists — and that includes me — are only forced to drive like undisciplined maniacs on the road because of the driving style of PUV drivers.

I did some experiments of my own to see if my hypothesis has any validity. One time while driving along Espana, Manila, I decided that I was going to stay on one lane from Welcome Rotonda all the way to Quiapo. No matter how hard I tried I always ended up switching to another lane for the simple reason that jeepneys and buses were swerving all around me, forcing me to swerve as well to avoid getting hit. I also found out that by keeping to one lane there is a big possibility that I will not make it to my destination on time because these PUV drivers have the habit of “parking” their vehicles just about anywhere they please.

As a commuter, I have also observed that PUV drivers are the most reckless of all motorists. Bus drivers are particularly notorious. They swerve and move in and out of lanes with impunity as if they were driving a Mini. No wonder accidents involving buses have become a daily occurence.

So there’s my claim. Undisciplined PUV drivers are the root cause of the traffic problem. I’m convinced that, if PUV drivers will just observe traffic rules and avoid swerving, hogging lanes, loading and unloading just about anywhere, most private motorists will find it easier to drive properly as well.

Another thing I observed that I think contributes to the problem is the selective enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. I’m sure other private motorists have noticed this as well. Traffic enforcers tend to give puv drivers more leeway. Take for instance swerving. If you regularly travel along Eliiptical Road in Quezon City you would have noticed that buses coming from Commonwealth Avenue make the approach to East Avenue starting from the innermost lanes of this particularly wide stretch of road. As such, these buses have to swerve and cross at least four lanes from across the Quezon Avenue entry point to the East Avenue exit point. Not a few accidents involving these buses have occured in this area alone. What is noticeable is that traffic enforcers manning that area don’t seem to mind these reckless drivers. What they normally concentrate on are the private motorists making the approach to the Quezon Avenue exit point. Ironically, their usual case against the private motorists they apprehend is swerving.

So what am I driving at? I contend that, for the most part, traffic enforcers are not helping at all in instilling discipline among PUV drivers. They really prefer apprehending private motorists. And, this is a fact that I can attest to because I have personally been in a situation where I was apprehended for getting stuck in the middle of an intersection while the driver of the jeepney ahead of me was allowed to go on his way without even an admonition. This selective enforcement will be discussed further in another post.

Going back to my issue against PUV drivers, I strongly believe the time is right to abandon any more attempts to discipline them. They will just continue violating traffic rules as long as their incomes are based on the number of passengers they pick up. I therefore propose a more drastic approach and this is where our lawmakers should come in. I suggest the following:

1. Pass legislation to ban jeepneys from major roads. Limit jeepney routes to the smaller inner roads.
2. Pass legislation to change the way PUV drivers are paid.
3. Pass legislation to support the development of a more organized bus transport system whereby buses are assigned specific loading and unloading bays.
4. Pass legislation for the development of a real Mass Transit System similar to those in Hong Kong, Singapore and other territories  lucky enough to have such a system.

I started this piece with a reference to the MMDA. I have a reason for that. I want to call attention to the fact that, while the MMDA’s projects have their merits, it is becoming painfully clear that those fences, u-turn slots, road widening projects etcetera etcetera are nothing more than a circumvention to avoid actually putting erring PUV drivers in their proper place.

At this point I would like to clarify that these are just suggestions. As with all my other posts here, this piece is just meant to start up a brainstorming session of sorts.  If you feel strongly about criticizing any of these suggestions go ahead just be sure to go about it in a constructive way.