Unified common sense

Now that the Metro Manila Mayors Council and MMDA have succeeded to agree on a unified ticketing system and a no confiscation of driver’s license policy, let us all pray that the same body of decision makers will embark on a research- and design-based urban planning, uniformed business rationale, uniformed traffic rules and regulations, all based on Unified Common Sense.

Don’t get me wrong: I sincerely applaud and congratulate the powers that be and the reason I am writing this article is because now is as good a time as any for the mayors of Metro Manila to form or hire a body of professionals to help them rewrite the operating system of Metro Manila from zoning, identifying business areas, public spaces and sensible traffic policies, not just rules, laws and fines.

It has been said time and again that Metro Manila is “dying” or “dead.” If that is the case, let’s all work on the resurrection of our metropolis by going to the academic community, private sector and the international experts to completely redesign how Metro Manila should be.

One of the country’s respected urban planners, Paulo Alcazaren, has been sharing sketches, photos and images of places all over the world where areas that were once dominated by cars and trucks have been converted to “people only” or mixed use by regulating the volume of vehicles allowed in the zone. I remember places in Europe where delivery vans were only allowed to enter before office hours or streets where only certain types and sizes of cars could be driven at specific hours.

Mayors and city councils need to rationalize road use in relation to customers of business establishments, business operations and sustainability. If you issue business permits for restaurants and coffee shops, the presumption is there is ample parking space in the area or the LGU allows parking for an average of one to two hours, then the owner of the vehicle would have to move his car or pay more. Instead of paying or sharing earnings with towing companies that result in corruption, why not hire parking attendants who also double up as force expanders for local security?

LGUs should conduct on site studies of roads where such models can be done based on flow and volume and not from a slide on a projection screen or table-mapping. Many places that have been delegated as alternative or Mabuhay routes may have been helpful for drivers but slowed or killed businesses altogether due to tire clamping and towing by MMDA.

If PBBM wants to boost the economy, he should study the direct impact of poor traffic design and policy in LGUs to failure of businesses. I have already done a series of articles on anomalous charges and fees imposed by LGUs on the agriculture sector who get nothing in return. Now we have the same in Metro Manila where LGUs collect from businesses and fine customers!

The point is that LGUs should not be able “to have their cake and eat it too” at the customer’s or taxpayer’s expense. LGUs need to support business, not discourage business. As we slowly returned to pre-pandemic traffic flow, the first thing I heard come out of the mouth of LGU traffic officials was that MMDA was conducting clearing operations, towing and clamping. Is clearing roads really the best thing they can come up with or is it simply the easiest, most low intensity conflict option?

Everybody has pointed out that cars dominate 70 percent of EDSA and motorcycles are slowly eating up more road space and slowing down traffic flow. Yet, the MMDA is scared shitless to try the twice a week volume reduction for private vehicles, totally uninterested in trying night-time or early morning only deliveries for trucks and vans. And why has the MMDA not designated a dedicated lane for motorcycles only, based on the new lane assignments on EDSA?

Hey, them are the rules, the MMDA might say, but has anybody ever stopped to check if them rules are aligned with and sensible in relation to the revival of business establishments and job creation? While we’re on the topic of enforcement, it just occurred to me that many “city traffic officials” are not really schooled and formally trained or supported with the necessary logistics and facilities needed for modern traffic management. They are mostly ex-cops who dealt more with criminality than modern wholistic traffic management and design. Most CCTVs in barangays are for crime prevention and control and not for traffic management.

Everybody says we need a mass transportation system, and everybody thinks and talks trains. But the truth is, that is not the only form of mass transport. In terms of cost and speed of implementation, buses are still the best and the fastest thing to put on the ground and can be done within 30 days and not 30 years! So why are we not doing it? Simply because government officials and relatives don’t own buses, they own cars and vans that are all listed with Grab or as shuttle services, etc.

The majority of car owners won’t take the trains or the buses because they are spoiled, paranoid and are allowed to dominate EDSA. I know a couple who are certified billionaires and wouldn’t be caught dead riding the bus, although as students in their younger years they probably did. Last Christmas, they regaled us about their adventure riding the Vietnamese equivalent of a habal-habal or Angkas because they had no choice… and enjoyed it!

There have been many good ideas from LGUs, the MMDA as well as academicians and international agencies. What guys like Secretary Benhur Abalos need to do is round up all the players into continuing discussion, evaluation and professional engagement in order to come up with a Unified Operating System for LGUs, not just for Metro Manila but other developing areas in the country.