WORM'S EYE

Suprahuman, Subhuman

When Metro Manila Becomes Unlivable

The sudden death of media bigwig Carlo "Caloy" Abrera should put a high-profile face to the risks and dangers of living in the metro. Abrera, a "travel show pioneer," was the husband of McCann Erickson's Emily Abrera and father of TV show host Paolo Abrera (and in-law of Suzi Entrata), died in an unthinkable manner - get struck by an oncoming train and dragged several yards or so away. And we thought only balut vendors and drunkards get run over that way.

Jessica Zafra's Manila, with all its manananggals and stolen skyway railings, may be the perfect training ground for world domination or the perfect planning conference site for terrorist attacks. ("You survive Manila, you could survive anywhere.") But the risks of dying on the job is so high, you know. Let me get down to business here: No human being should live close to those tracks in the first place!

It's easy to blame overpopulation for the resultant fiasco that is urban-planning in a place designed for 18th century living. But shouldn't we look instead at the reasons why people from the countryside are migrating en masse to the big city? As I see it, the culprits are obvious: An almost conspiratorial scheme to keep the provinces underdeveloped. Of course it doesn't help that Dean Jorge Bocobo's favorite terrorists, the NPAs and their revolutionary tax, are intransigent about thwarting whatever government works or private investments are being initiated in far-flung places. The result: Those places seem decidedly impervious to progress.

"Serve the country by becoming an entrepreneur," Mr. Gokongwei says, in a speech. Great idea, I say, but like how? Given these appalling conditions, especially in the countryside?

Faced with a problem that appears insurmountable at their level, local politicos in the metro could perhaps only coddle the ensuing colonies of squatters. I guess they are torn between helping out and getting new votes. I guess their hands are tied, too, as to whether to declare illegal sidewalk vendors as indeed illegal. Etc.

s I hope Abrera's tragedy will also steal the limelight away from political issues - which are essentially personality issues, and focus on the urban reengineering direly needed for our premier city. Since we almost cannot do anything about provincial politicos' pork barrel ending up in private pockets instead of being invested in public infrastructure, we can in the interim think of ways of alleviating our urban and suburban sufferings. (Wow, I'm becoming more positive! I'm improving.)

But let's have the statistics first:

- Did you know that a place like St. Dominic Village in Novaliches (near the Deparo-Cabatuan Road) has no running water? How can something like this happen in a place like that?

- I've read Johnny Litton somewhere proposing that the overabundance of buses should be regulated in EDSA. I agree. Get rid of those ugly rickety buses, too!

- Neal Cruz is right. There are a lot more buses, jeepneys and tricycles than we actually need. He forgot to mention the phenomenon of artificial shortages during rush hours and when you need these utilities the most. This practice of "cutting trip" is immoral and criminal and no one is doing something about it. Drivers always blame the heavy traffic ahead.

- I am actually a formidable defender of capitalism, but now, I'm wondering like Ronnel Lim whether privatizing utilities is such a bright idea. Government has long proven to be inefficient in handling public utilities, but in the selfish hands of private individuals, we are all held hostage and left at the tender mercies of the bottom line. For the first time, I am left wondering whether the Left is right.

- Do you ever cross a four-lane street everyday to get to your job? And risk being run over not only by buses and jeepneys but monstrous trucks after 9 PM? Now that the MMDA has railed commuters in, jaywalking is no longer the problem. The problem is, since urban planners and engineers are the types who have never tasted public commute in their privileged lives, they never take into consideration the plight of millions of commuters at the drawing board, AT THE OUTSET. The result is criminally dangerous roads and highways and jaywalkers who have no choice but defy the city ordinances. Classic cases: Bicutan Interchange. Magallanes Cloverleaf area. Alabang Interchange.

- I like MMDA chair Bayani Fernando because he has demonstrated in Marikina and the rest of Metro Manila what a bare-faced lie our lying leaders' insistence that some things are impossible to do. Fernando showed 'em all: Political will spells the difference. Take the case of Baclaran and Novaliches, the worst hellholes in the metro, many parts of QC -- these are direct after-effects of Fernando's vision and political will - that is, if he has still not given up the fight. He has even shown that squatter colonies can be dealt with, in a way that won't make them cry "Kawawa naman talaga kami!"

- Contrast, mayoral candidate Alma Moreno cheekily cashes in on the plight of her beloved poor illegal vendors and we all turn sympathetic. Have she and the rest of her colleagues heard of the phrase "wala sa lugar"?

- I haven't been to Kalookan of late, but the thickness of the crowd there has convinced me that we should really start considering a network of subways as options. Or building a floating city, or continue building 'up,' like they reportedly do in Tokyo, New York and Hong Kong.

- Otherwise, we really have to fight for massive infrastructure development and job creation in the countryside. (Of course, with sustainable development and environmental impact taken into consideration.)

My condolences to the Abreras. Let no one else die from being struck by a speeding train again. (At the time of writing, two more fatalities have been reported.) I am quite certain the perils and follies of inordinately-scaled urban architecture do not constitute the will of God.