FINAL POSITION PAPER

Concerned Student Commuters’ Alliance of the Philippines

University of Santo Tomas, Espa?a, Sampaloc, Manila

+63 956 337 6970

09 November 2019

Mr. Edison L. Nebrija

EDSA Special Traffic and Transport Zone Head

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

EDSA cor. Orense St., Guadalupe Nuevo

Makati City, Metro Manila

Mr. Arthur Tugade

Secretary

Department of Transportation

APO Court along Sergio Osme?a Street,

Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga

Mr. Salvador S. Panelo

Presidential Spokesperson

Office of the President-Proper

Malaca?ang Complex, J.P. Laurel Street

San Miguel, Manila 1005

Dear ? Mr. Nebrija, Mr. Tugade ?and ? Mr. Panelo:

Greetings!

In support of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary-General Reyes’ claim,

the transportation in Metro Manila is now considered to be in a state of crisis. Recently, Mr.

Salvador Panelo, Mr. Edison ‘Bong’ Nebrija, and Mr. Arthur Tugade have claimed that no such

crisis exists but the many commuters in Manila argue otherwise. This crisis has already been

troubling Metro Manila for several years, and thousands of private and public vehicle commuters

and drivers have been suffering.

With this being a major concern for the public, there is no doubt

that a transport crisis exists.

Out of 56 countries, Manila only ranks 54th in terms of quality of life in the latest

Numbeo Quality-of-life index. Included in the determinants of a country’s quality of life is

traffic congestion and commuting situation. As found by a study by the Boston Consulting

Group, commuters in Manila spend an average of one hour and six minutes each day in traffic.

Concerned Student Commuters’ Alliance of the Philippines

University of Santo Tomas, Espa?a, Sampaloc, Manila

+63 956 337 6970

Crisis is manifested in the daily struggle of commuters, not only in traffic but on the commuting

situation in all its aspects.

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Waking up and leaving early, contrary to Mr. Panelo’s suggestion, does not guarantee

on-time arrivals. It is already a common practice for most commuters, especially students and

employees to wake up as early as midnight in order to avoid transport inconveniences but these

people are still subject to such problems. This is even proven with Mr. Panelo himself failing to

arrive on time at his office during his ‘commute challenge’. Even if the media’s interruption had

caused a delay, Mr. Panelo would have still arrived late if it weren’t for the free motorcycle ride

offered to him. Other than traffic, commuters also complain that acquiring a ride is already a

major problem, resulting in an even longer commuting time. In order to avoid this difficulty,

some commuters depend on ride hailing services instead. Yet these services are not even

government projects. Moreover, even with the aid of these applications, a crisis in transportation

still exists since these services can only cater to the few privileged ones who are capable of

affording such options. The majority of commuters, on the other hand, are left with extremely

long lines in public transportation terminals and overcrowded public vehicles.

Apart from the obvious plight of commuters, the poor management and maintenance of

the transit systems is also evidence of a transport crisis. LRT-2 has caught fire, suspending its

operations in affected stations while MRT-3 and LRT-1 have also recently had mechanical

issues. Engr. Federico Canar, the department manager of LRT Lines 1 and 2 even admitted that

there was no disaster recovery plan for complications like that of the LRT-2 fire. The PNR have

also been known to cancel trips without prior notification to the public.

A transport crisis occurs when transportation or the process of getting from one place to

another proves to be difficult and becomes a problem affecting a group of people. Therefore,

these pieces of evidence prove that Metro Manila is, indeed, having a transport crisis. Panelo

taking on the ‘commute challenge’, in itself, is already a proof of such phenomenon. Moreover,

the mere fact that the act of commuting was considered a ‘challenge’ proves that there really is

something difficult about it.

Concerned Student Commuters’ Alliance of the Philippines

University of Santo Tomas, Espa?a, Sampaloc, Manila

+63 956 337 6970

Subsequent to this challenge, Mr. Panelo, who was supported by Mr. Nebrija and Mr.

Tugade, stood by his position that there is no transport crisis in Manila but only a “traffic” crisis.

As argued by these officials, there are only transportation problems that need to be solved. In

response to the LRT-2 issue, they defended the government’s efforts, pertaining to the

undergoing construction of several infrastructures.

However, transport crisis is experienced by the majority of commuters and traffic is not

their only problem. Even though Mr. Panelo declared his accomplishment in the ‘commute

challenge’, the amount of special treatment that was coddled to him by policemen and traffic

enforcers proves otherwise. Moreover, a one-time commute cannot outweigh the difficulty and

struggle on an everyday commuter’s day. Inclined to this, his stand that there is no

“transportation crisis” since there is “no mass transportation paralysis” is heavily debated by the

public. As mentioned above, the meaning of transportation crisis, this statement is clearly a

representation to the state of Philippine transportation. The traffic crisis due to multitudinous

vehicles may be inevitable but the statement would be a lot more acceptable if the improvement

of public transportation systems are prioritized by the government, which in this case, is not. Not

only does the administration poorly fund public transportation systems, they also remain ignorant

about the repercussions this crisis may invoke. These repercussions include the deterioration of

health of the commuters; may it be physical, mental and psychological. Being exposed in air

pollution caused by the smoke coming out of the vehicles and having to endure the amount of

hours waiting and commuting everyday with lack of sleep are the most visible signals on how

inconvenience being the only issue is an understatement.

As an urban city, Manila has a high population of commuters and transportation vehicles.

However, the crisis that the public pronounces originates from the fact that there is a lack of

proper management for the country’s transportation system and that the country’s citizens have

no choice but to continuously compromise in order to go to their respective destinations. The

stress constantly experienced by the Filipino commuters should be a cause of worry for the

government, more so because alternatives such as ride-hailing services are a luxury that not

Concerned Student Commuters’ Alliance of the Philippines

University of Santo Tomas, Espa?a, Sampaloc, Manila

+63 956 337 6970

everyone can afford. Opposing views regarding the issue claims that the crisis is “exaggerated”

and what the public experience is only a “traffic” crisis. Yet, the general public disagrees.

Transportation crisis applies because many factors are affected by the problems of our transport

system including the health of the people and the environment. The on-going crisis in

transportation in Metro Manila would not be resolved if the current administration itself would

not admit to its existence. The government must ensure that the transport crisis is averted by

providing more programs that will help in better management of public transport vehicles and

providing more ways for public transportation. It is also a suggested idea to emphasize more on

public commuters’ rights and lessening private vehicles on traffic-congested places. Given these

grounds, the public transportation system must be improved in order for this crisis to be stopped

for the benefit of the people of the Philippines.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

________________________

Darla Louise Aguirre

________________________

Ma. Francesca Louise Gines

________________________

Jose Paulo Lorenzo Prietos

________________________

Patricia Marie Reyes

________________________

Zofia Erica Tadeo

________________________

Joanna Isabelle Zapata