Smells the same!

Some people can highlight what’s wrong elsewhere without realizing or considering what is in our own neighborhood. A couple of tourists to China talked about how some places in Hong Kong and Shanghai were so off putting due to human and dog excrement on the road. To them it was the single reason for telling people not to go to those places. I tried to put in a counter point saying I’ve been to Hong Kong and Shanghai and I’ve never had the sad experience of seeing or smelling crap.

Then last week, I found myself in our own little version of “China” as in China town in Manila and started to wonder how things would compare. I had to go to Plaza Cervantes, Binondo so I took a leisurely stroll from the Bureau of Immigration area, went past the National Press Club where the low metal fence had democratically been sequestered and turned into a sampayan or drying area for clothes by street people. From the NPC, I crossed over Jones Bridge but even before I could get deep into Binondo, I smelled the undeniable fragrance of crap from the two-legged variety and I wanted to call the person who shared their Shanghai misadventure to tell them that we also have the same tourist attraction in the Plaza Cervantes area.

I felt sorry and disappointed that the business community in Binondo and all of “China Town” can invest so much money on “Welcome Arches,” fire trucks and fire stations, humongous lion dog statues and “skyscrapers” but overlook how dark, dingy, and dusty their rich and extremely historical “Town” has become. The fact that the first thing to greet you at 8:30 is human shit on the sidewalk fronting Phil Trust Bank already tells us that no one has been paying attention or cleaning their perimeter or cares about street people using dark sidewalks as their personal toilets. In many cases, everyone is only concerned about what is IN their building but not around it.

Just before I get banned from China Town for my comments, please let me state that I am merely trying to call the people’s attention to their rich and historical neighborhood that has now turned into a perpetual construction site. I know you have some of the most expensive land values in the region but shouldn’t that be more reason to step outside your buildings, walk around your neighborhood and reclaim if not rebuild the face and the physical stature of China town?  It’s just so sad that the people and the community that have been blessed so much has ignored how their “Home” looks. Yes, the fire volunteers and medical missions do touch lives but your “Charity should start in your home” and where generational prosperity has risen from. Isn’t it about time you “Love China Town.” It’s called Pride Of Place.

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I know that Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada dreams of recapturing the glory of Manila and I’ve heard some of the clean up drives he has been spearheading. While crossing the Jones Bridge the one really ugly sight I saw that does not give value or honor to the City of Manila are the jeepneys that are so dilapidated that every time they drove up the low incline of Jones bridge they spewed black clouds of diesel fumes every two minutes. These jeepneys have defective surplus engines and their exteriors and interiors are no longer the classic and iconic King of the Road models of the ’70s. It’s ironic that the horses that pull the kalesas die natural deaths and are replaced by new ones, but the jeepneys carry on and it never occurred to government or authorities to put a shelf life on them!

In terms of tourism and visitors, many foreigners and investors have to go to the Bureau of Immigration. Mayor Erap might want to take a short 100 meter stroll between the Bureau of Immigration building and the National Press Club and he will discover how street people and bad maintenance has led to the visual and physical deterioration of the sidewalk where many tourists and foreigners pass by daily. We spend billions of pesos to promote Philippine Tourism and that short strip rips up our reputation. Even the Intramuros authorities should review their policies regarding street food outlets because these businesses are so disorganized and unsightly.

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Since I’ve mentioned the Bureau of Immigration building, I might as well share my observations on how the incumbent leaders of the BI can improve their services instead of whipping themselves for the sins of two political appointees and their boss.

For starters, the guys at the reception area and metal detector need to focus more on doing security screening than talking about lunch. If they did they might spot who are elderly, infirmed, PWD or Persons with Disability, pregnant or with infants who should all be given a special route or processing center. Processing at the BI generally requires people to go up and down 3 floors and not just in one stream but back and forth. Have pity on the infirmed. I was shocked to hear a BI person say they do not give priority to Senior Citizens. They obviously also do not pay attention to PWDs or the fact that school children had to pull out of classes to be at the BI.

A number of BI personnel need intensive training on “customer relations” “Public Decorum” so they realize that they have no business talking about what’s for lunch or what their baon is. The imaging section needs more than just one camera. Last but not the least they need to undertake a “Smile Campaign” and not move like robots behind their counters. The BI also needs more space and it’s time they got their building built at Diosdado Macapagal Avenue because they don’t even have decent seats in their current location.

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