P23.3 BILLION IN UNCHANGED OLD BILLS: BSP MUST DEFER TIMELINE BY ANOTHER 1-2 YEARS OR NOT DEMONETIZED AT ALL

Did you know that the U.S. doesn’t demonetize their old bills even if the new ones have more security features? There is even a law in the US prohibiting demonetization http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/12/13/1532033/demonetization-demonization). Then why is it that the Philippines’ Central Bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP) is demonetizing Philippine currency given its findings that up to date, Dec. 28, 2016, over P23.3 BILLION is still in circulation or hasn’t been replaced?

In retrospect, BSP launched its information drive to demonetize the previous design in 2014, wherein it was announced that 2015 will be the last year that it will be a legal tender and 2016 will be the year banks can change them. It seemed that it was

FIGHT TOBACCO LOBBYING: GOV’T SHOULD QUADRUPLE OR MORE “SIN TAXES” ON CIGARETTES

Smoking tobacco (or cigarette) kills – this is a fact. Worse, it doesn’t affect just the smoker but those who inhale the unfiltered, “second-hand” smoke, too. So why haven’t governments, specifically ours, banned its use?

One reason may be that some in government are already addicted to smoking and have sympathies with the vice. Another is the powerful lobbying by big tobacco manufacturers, sellers and growers (lobbying can take many forms such as persuasion,

NO JAIL TIME FOR MINOR OFFENSES: CONGRESS SHOULD PASS A LAW ALLOWING CANING

Caning is a widely-used form of legal corporal punishment in Singapore. The most severe is judicial-type, this is for male convicts under the age of 50, as substitute for short prison terms or in combination with prison terms and fines, for a wide range of offences under the Criminal Procedure Code. If the offender is under 18, he may receive up to 10 strokes of the cane, but a lighter cane will be used in this case. Boys under 16 may be sentenced to caning only by the High Court.

We should emulate the Singaporean, Malaysian and Brunei form of corporal punishment in our penal code, this way, we don’t have to imprison those convicted of minor offenses that traditionally warranted a few months’ imprisonment. This will help ease

U.S. ACCUSES CHINA OF BULLYING: THE U.S. JUST DON’T WANT THE COMPETITION

The documentary “Princes of the Yen” that aired on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) last night tried to explain how powerful, moneyed cartels behind international banks that include the Int’l Monetary Fund, World Bank, European (Union) Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve manipulated and coerced less powerful nations into economic and political submission. These private groups are so powerful that they have tremendous influence on western powers (European and U.S. gov’ts) which in turn support them with economic, political and military might.

When the U.S. says, “you’re our ally so we will back you up” – it only means that they’re going to go as far as protecting their self-interests but beyond that, you’re on your own. Or in other words, “so long as it serves America's interests, you can count

THOSE WHO PERPETRATE UNIMAGINABLE VIOLENCE TO INNOCENT VICTIMS HAVE FORFEITED THEIR RIGHT TO LIFE

Just a few weeks’ ago, a CCTV in Taguig City caught an incident involving an 18-yr. old Adamson University student, Nick Russel Oniot, walking home who had the unfortunate fate of being the target of two vicious types of criminals. One perpetrator tried to grab the victim’s backpack - who instinctively resisted - but instead of using threats or coercion to make the victim back down, the second perpetrator suddenly and deliberately stabbed him (13 times) to death. In this case, justice was very swift – the stabber was caught within 24 hours and killed as he “resisted” escorting officers during a transfer and the other was also brought into custody but later died in jail.

On Tues., Dec. 13, 2016, a Grade 10 student in Baguio City, Kenneth Velasco, was brutally stabbed 40 times in what seemed like a robbery. The measly heist consists of the young victim’s cellphone and P200 school money. It is unimaginable how

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: 2 BI OFFICIALS IN WRONGDOING THINK WE’RE GULLIBLE

The 2 Bureau of Immigration (BI) Asst. Commissioners, Michael Robles and Al Argosino, were reported to have been caught by camera (CCTV) in the act of receiving P50 million in bribe money from a representative (ex-Gen. Wally Sombero) of fugitive Jack Lam but they insisted on denying it. They are now claiming (after their wrongdoing was exposed) that it was a legitimate “operation” to flush out and catch would-be bribers in Lam’s group.

Legitimate operation? What operation? I think that they’re just divulging it only after they’ve been exposed! Besides, if it was a legitimate operation then proper, timely and ample notifications (with documentations) should have been done. There’s nothing

THE MYTH OF A CLASSLESS SOCIETY

Communism, as we all know by now, is a failed ideology. Why? It was primarily based on the aspirations of a classless society. A classless society is a myth. A pigment of our lofty ambitions – and realistically – of our imaginations.

Human society, just like other non-human groups, is naturally hierarchical. Singapore’s great PM Lee Kuan Yew was merely stating a fact when he said, “The human being is an unequal creature. That is a fact. All the great religions, all the great movements, all the great political ideology, say let us make the human being as equal as possible. In fact, he is not equal,

5 PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTS ALLOWED FOR MARCOS BURIAL AT LIBINGAN TO HAPPEN

Five Presidents had the chance to pass a law or an executive order banning the burial of the late dictator and plunderer at the Libingan ng mga Bayani – but none did. All five presidents are guilty of political accommodation to the so-called “solid north” either for a chance at a political truce or votes or something else. No one wanted to bite the bullet by risking to alienate the (obviously) powerful Ilocano vote but now that Pres. Duterte is fulfilling his campaign promise, they’re blaming him.

This is a campaign promise that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte made and now that he has been elected president probably partly because of it, how can he not fulfill it? We shouldn’t blame Pres. Duterte because his predecessors chose to deliberately sit

EMBRACING DISCIPLINE OVER DEMOCRACY

Lord John Dalberg Acton once quoted, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. This may be true in most cases, but not always.

The late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore may be an exception - one of those remarkable individuals who rose to the pedestal of greatness through his resolve to “put things in order” for the general welfare. Of course, his successful leadership may have meant occasionally adapting a strongman’s tactics, but it seemed that he wielded that power for the greater good. Today he is generally revered for his work in transforming Singapore from third world city-state to first world status in one

THE VALID POLICE DISPERSAL OF THE VIOLENT RALLY AT THE U.S. EMBASSY

Rally organizers knew that a peaceful program or rally will have no media impact so they’d probably planned the vandalism and deliberate agitations even before the protest action started. What they didn’t planned on was that their errant agitations would cause a hothead to run over their ranks with a police van.

If they were peaceful as they claimed, we would have seen a rally just like the one held by Marcos loyalists at the Supreme Court just a few days prior. But instead we saw agitated protesters charging the police line, we saw vandals spray-painting and

A POLITICIZED INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC): THE PHILIPPINES SHOULD PULL OUT

Did you know that the Philippines can pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at any time? The Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, allows for states to withdraw from the ICC. In fact, some world powers (countries) refuse membership in the ICC or do not recognized its authority or jurisdiction. Believe it or not, the United States (U.S.) is one of them.

Israel had refused to be a party to the ICC because it has concerns that political pressure on the Court would lead it to reinterpret international law or to "invent new crimes".

METRO MANILA 4-DAY SCHOOL WEEK WILL ALSO HELP PARENTS AND STUDENTS

There’s a proposal going around about the 4-day work week in order to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila, this is good as long as the business sector doesn’t mind. Although eventually they may not have a choice anyhow but why don’t we try the 4-day school week first?

Every daily commuter knows that during summer vacation the usual long queues at LRT and MRT stations are drastically shorter and the usual choke points on major roads that happen on school zones are gone. That’s because a huge number of students (commuters or with vehicles) aren’t using the PUVs or roads. That’s what we’re aiming to re-enact one day every

HURRAY! ROAD SPACE-SAVING DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES ARE NOW HERE FOR DOTR’S P2P TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Filipinos need not go to Hong Kong or Singapore or London to experience the double-decker bus, just ride the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Point-to-Point (P2P) mass transport system (http://cnnphilippines.com/life/videos/2016/10/12/Government-launches-14-new-double-decker-P2P-buses.html). This space-saving vehicle can ferry almost as many passengers that two regular buses can. Besides cash, commuters can also use their BEEP cards for their fare, too. WOW!

The double-decker concept is “MOVING MORE PEOPLE IN LESS VEHICLES (on the road)” – we need to focus on similar

THE BALANGIGA BELLS: U.S. TROPHY FOR THE MASSACRE OF INNOCENT FILIPINO CIVILIANS?

The Balangiga Massacre DOES NOT refer to the legitimate ambush made by Filipino freedom fighters against the surprised U.S. Army company at Balangiga, Samar in Sept. 28, 1901. This raid resulted in the deaths of 48 and wounding of 22 American soldiers. The Balangiga Massacre is the ruthless butchering of unspecified number of innocent Filipino civilians as revenge killing for that valid ambush (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balangiga_massacre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balangiga_bells).

The U.S. Army took the Balangiga Bells as war trophies after their men, on orders of Gen. Jacob H. Smith, massacred innocent Filipino civilian males aged 10 and older. Shame on Americans or anyone who may think that such an INGLORIOUS

THE ANATOMY OF U.S.-SPONSORED FAILED STATES: THE U.S. IS AT IT AGAIN IN THE CASE OF SYRIA

Iraq, Libya and now Syria – the U.S. brand of “democracy” obviously isn’t working for certain cultures and peoples so that is why these countries are now failed states or on their way to becoming one. Warlordism has become of Iraq and Libya but thanks to Russia, most of Syria hasn’t gone to that yet.

For a long time, Col. Muammar Khadafy ruled with an iron fist in Libya and so did Pres. Saddam Hussein over Iraq. There may have been ruthlessness and abuses committed, but each dictator held together their people as a nation. But as the world knows now, U.S.-style “democracy” may not be suitable for some cultures. In fact, in some cultures, benevolent dictatorships

MMDA’S NO-CONTACT TRAFFIC APPREHENSIONS: EFFECTIVE ROAD DISCIPLINARIAN

When Metro Manila Dev’t Authority (MMDA) announced the start of the No-Contact Traffic Apprehensions System (http://www.mmda.gov.ph/index.php/20-faq/2040-no-contact-traffic-apprehension-policy-11-things-you-need-to-know), I knew that a sustained and strict implementation of the system is good for motorists’ road discipline and for add’l gov’t revenue for our traffic system’s overdue upgrades. Now that Pres. Duterte aims to cut income and other taxes, the penalties collected from erring motorists is a timely and good source of funding to augment the “savings” that the previous administration left.

Expect this source of funding to be significant because of the countless violations that we see on the road, private and public vehicles alike. Of course, the no-contact apprehension may take some time because of the due process of sending notices,

PROTECTION FOR PHILIPPINE LAW ENFORCERS (AND THEIR FAMILIES) IS A MUST

Protective gear for our “in-the-line-of-fire” Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel should be given priority. Currently, only special units like the SWAT, NBI, PDEA, etc. don bulletproof vests, Kevlar helmets, advanced communications gear and other life-saving paraphernalia. My heart goes to heroes like PO1 Romeo Mandapat who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. PO1 Mandapat may have had a chance against his drug-pusher killer if he had the proper gear. (http://balita.definitelyfilipino.com/tags/po1-romeo-mandapat/)

Our policemen and law enforcement agents who go out in the field to conduct raids, arrests, searches and other operations

P18.9 BILLION FOR FA-50 FIGHTER JETS FOR PAF: A WASTE OF MONEY

Pres. Duterte scored a bulls-eye in saying that the money spent for the 12 FA-50 jets purchased by the last administration could have been used to buy helicopters or boats that we can use for our internal security problems. For the amount, our Air Force could have gained more choppers and/or small, fast boats for our Coast Guard so that they can pursue terrorists and bandits over land or over sea.

In his speech before local mayors, he divulged that now the U.S. won’t even sell us ammunition for these fighters. What? Why did ex-Pres. Aquino get these very expensive but useless military hardware anyway if the U.S. can “yank our chain” and not

HPG DID A GREAT JOB TO END THE BALINTAWAK MARKET TRAFFIC CHAOS (BUT WHY HAVEN’T I SEEN THEM LATELY)?

Prior to ex-Pres. Aquino’s order for the PNP-Highway Patrol Group’s (HPG) to “fix” EDSA, Balintawak Market always caused a traffic buildup. Vendors occupy 1-lane, 1-lane is filled with patrons’ and suppliers’ vehicles, 1-lane has become the “terminal” of unfilled PUJs and yet another lane served as the “unloading/loading” area for other PUVs. This means that out of 5-lanes in that portion of EDSA, passing vehicles are left with only 1-lane to use.

And what’s exacerbating is that all of these are usually happening under the watchful eyes of MMDA Traffic Enforcers posted at the area. Makes anyone who emerges from the bottleneck and sees them to think that either these MMDA personnel are

HPG CLOSES U-TURN SLOT AT SM NORTH EDSA: THERE’S A BETTER SOLUTION THAN CLOSING IT

The U-Turn slot after West Ave. that previously served all vehicles going to SM North EDSA was closed in an effort by the HPG to help make traffic flow along EDSA smoother by diverting traffic to the much farther Quezon Ave. I think that motorists can bear the expense of the added distance if only to avoid a traffic buildup at the old U-Turn slot, but now the bottleneck is at Quezon Ave. and unless it affects the EDSA flow (their current mission) I fear that HPG doesn’t care.

As a motorist (and commuter) who frequents SM North EDSA coming from Monumento, I think that there’s a better solution to mitigate EDSA traffic buildup in the area and at the same time decongest the Quezon Ave. U-Turn slot:

Let private vehicles use the old U-Turn slot and let PUVs use the Quezon Ave. slot.

But it CAN’T be the other way around. Why? PUVs are the primary cause of the blockage - PUVs unloading at the outermost(rightmost) lane and PUVs emerging from West Ave. that “cross” EDSA in order to get to the old U-Turn slot. These practice by PUVs results to 4-5 out of the 6 lanes of EDSA getting blocked by PUVs trying to get to the old U-Turn slot.

THE NEW KFC SUNDAE: A PRODUCT OF FALSE ADVERTISING

The new KFC Sundae posters at KFC SM Annex North EDSA was so tempting that I tried it and I was shocked with the almost halved serving size. The crew, a Ms. Mocha, even reiterated that it was the correct serving size when I called her attention to it. Frustrated, I dutifully started filming and taking photos of the sundae and the KFC posters for Consumerword.

Only after noticing my actions did the branch officer approached me to apologize and offer to replace the item. She said that Ms. Mocha was new and didn’t realize that her serving was incorrect. Although she brought me a better serving, and I thanked

THE SLOWEST SPEED AVAILABLE, NOT THE FASTEST, SHOULD BE THE TRUE MEASURE FOR QUALITY OF INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

A Phil. Long Distance Tel. Co. (PLDT) executive was over the news boasting that a recent “research” showed that the Philippines has risen to the No. 12 among countries with high-speed internet connection (in Asia-Pacific). What is he talking about?   I knew for a fact that in Hong Kong and Singapore, as way back as several years ago, the slowest internet speeds start at 12-15mbps (megabits per sec.) and their fastest may be twice or many times that.

In the Philippines, however, where our telcos (telecommunications companies) are making so much money by providing multi-tiered internet packages – internet connection speeds start at an unbelievable slow speed of 375-750kbps (kilobits per sec.) or

RH LAW IS PRO-LIFE, PRO-POOR AND PRO-PROGRESS: FAMILY PLANNING IS A MUST FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Why do the poorest have some of the largest families? Perhaps because they didn't know any better. Implementing the RH LAW of 2012 will result to informed choices and will greatly benefit this sector of Philippine society.

Over-population or high fertility rate is a common factor in underdeveloped or “developing” countries. In fact, all developed nations have low fertility rate that some have zero or negative population growth.

But in developed nations, too, there are significantly less practicing or devout Catholics. This is probably why the Philippines's Roman Catholic Church is holding us back – it wouldn’t allow government to implement an effective population control program and no president has been able to do this for fear of losing their flock’s vote. According to statistics, devoutness is prevalent

JANSPORT BACKPACK ZIPPERS GET STUCK A LOT

Jansport backpacks aren’t inexpensive teens’ school gear, but apparently they’re popular. That is why we’ve had at least 3 over the years for my teenage daughter. They’re the “in” thing in school since she was in her elementary school days. They’re sturdy, with a life-time warranty on service, but they have a problem – the zipper often gets stuck on the covering flap.

And after I searched the internet, I found out that other Jansport backpack owners have been experiencing the same problem. It is not an

SEN. MANNY PACQUIAO AND SEN. TITO SOTTO: WE SHOULD LISTEN TO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY

I was able to catch a glimpse of the first day of the much talked about Senate hearing on the so-called Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK) and it is interesting to note the responses made by Sen. Tito Sotto and Sen. Manny Pacquiao. I must admit that maybe because they’re not lawyers or PhDs or the like I didn’t have high expectations.

Much to my surprise, the two Senators posed some of the most interesting (and sensible) questions. Sen. Tito Sotto asked a resource person whose husband and father-in-law got killed inside a police station, "What is the penalty for Kara Crus? Isn’t that a minor offense?

TRUCKS AND BUSES NOW AT ROXAS BLVD.: THEY’RE CAUSING HAVOC

I was sadly surprised to see huge container van trucks and buses along Roxas Blvd. the other night on my way to Malabon City from the Mall of Asia (MOA) in Pasay City. For several decades now, trucks and buses have been banned from much of Roxas Blvd. which makes the traffic congestion relatively easier.

Eventually I noticed a lane with the new marking “TRUCKS WITH TABS” that apparently runs the entire stretch of Roxas Blvd. now. The new administration may have been trying to replicate the Circumferential Road 5 (C5) model wherein trucks and buses can use one lane. In the C5 model, however, the single-lane use is strictly implemented – this is evident because a long line of trucks creates a “wall” along

CUSTOMER SERVICE AT BPI: PROBABLY ONE OF THE SLOWEST (IF NOT THE SLOWEST)

I wonder why it takes longer to bank at BPI than any of the major banking institutions in the Philippines. Is it because there are usually only one or two of the 3 or 4 teller booths operating? Is it because BPI staff conduct their business more slowly and therefore less efficiently? I also bank at various branches of BDO, Metrobank, China Bank, PS Bank, and RCBC – and I’ve realized that BPI branches are generally unpleasant and too time-consuming to go to.

Compared to BDO, customer service at BPI sucks. BDO branches have more tellers, and if 4 or 5 aren’t enough, even their

HANDLE-LESS BIG PAPER BAGS: THEY SHOULD TRY CARRYING A BAG-FULL AROUND

Whoever got the “bright” idea for those medium and big handle-less paper bags that Jollibee and KFC use for their goods probably haven’t tried carrying a bag-full around the mall or riding crowded PUVs. The SM Store, The French Baker and other establishments who started with the same concept quickly realized their mistake and came out with paper bags with handles (BIG HURRAH to The SM Store and The French Baker!).

Either the “geniuses” at Jollibee and KFC haven’t realized this or they had but just didn’t care.

PNP SAF DOING A GREAT JOB AT NBP

The PNP Special Action Force (SAF) is doing a great job at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). I watched over DZMM TeleRadyo that visitors of inmates at the NBP are complaining that they are being asked to strip for searches, being asked to surrender cash and valuables, etc. before they can see the inmates. But these are Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for secured facilities like prisons – are they saying that the old jail guards weren’t doing these procedures before? If they’re not used to these SOP then it can only mean that the old jail guards weren’t doing their job.

Since we all know that PNP SAF posting at NBP is temporary, let’s hope that the Department of Corrections (DOC) personnel

ADDENDUM: LRT-MRT GRAND CENTRAL STATION TUSSLE BETWEEN MALL GIANTS OVER – DOTC BREAKS IMPASSE

UNTV Online reported on Aug. 19, 2016 that the legal stalemate between mall giants SM Group and Ayala Group has been resolved. Sec. Arthur Tugade of DOTC helped broker the compromise deal between the two mall owners affected by the planned construction of the common station. However, the deal hasn’t been signed by all parties involved so this isn’t final yet.

After over seven years of legal tug-of-war between the two malls, this is good news nevertheless. LRT and MRT riders may soon be spared from the additional hassle of physically making a PUJ /PUB transfer from one line to the other – a convenience

THE PROPOSED LRT-MRT GRAND CENTRAL STATION: COMMUTERS’ DREAM TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE

What was once a grand plan to construct what could have been considered Manila’s first true “Grand Central Station (GCS)” near SM City North EDSA Mall has stalled and thousands of LRT-MRT riders who were the intended beneficiaries of the plan are now hopefully waiting for the promised change that we yearn for from the new gov’t of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.

It’s interesting to note that the “re-positioning” stance (that totally scrapped the originally-approved integration plan) of the

“ROAD RAGE” AT SM CITY-ANNEX NORTH EDSA CARPARK

Irate car owners at the SM City North EDSA-Annex carpark tonight, Tue., Aug. 16, 2016, can only blow their horns incessantly in pure disgust over a 65-min. waiting time at the exit ramps. I was one of the victims of this sheer folly. And the worst thing is – staff at the only exit booth didn’t even bother to offer an explanation or an apology when asked “What the heck happened?”. It was like adding insult to injury.

I’m unsure exactly when SM City North EDSA-Annex carpark started to implement the new carpark system wherein a parking

BEWARE OF EXTREME AIRE: A SAMSUNG-ACCREDITED REPAIR SHOP

I had a sad experience with Extreme Aire, an accredited service provider of Samsung Electronics (Phils.) located along MacArthur Highway, Potrero, Malabon City. I hadn’t really gotten around to filing a formal complaint with Samsung Electronics (Phils.) but I intend to. I’m unsure if they are even officially accredited by brands like Koppel, GE, Daewoo and Fedders that appear on their store sign.

When my refrigerator broke down over a year ago, I had the misfortune of getting their name from the website of Samsung Electronics (Phils.) so I contacted them and they sent two technicians to look at my unit. Unfortunately, these technicians

UV EXPRESS STILL MOST CONVENIENT AND QUICKEST

I recently watched MMDA Officer-In-Charge Atty. Emerson Carlos over DZMM TeleRadyo talk about some of the priority solutions for the worsening traffic congestion problem in Metro Manila, specially EDSA. His No. 1 proposal is basically to make buses plying the routes more efficient or “quicker” in order to encourage a shift in attitude of sole occupants of motor vehicles to become public transport users – a bus with 50 riders spares the road of potentially 50 vehicles with solo occupants. This is true, but it is only one of the necessary measures or a “band aid” solution to the long-term problem of maintaining an efficient mass transport system.

LRT and MRT systems should still be the priority concern of the new administration, fixing the existing infrastructure first before going through with the expansions (to neighboring provinces) – more people still rely on these operational units and are

DAGSIN AT CINEMALAYA FESTIVAL: A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR FILIPINO MOVIEGOERS

I chanced upon a Filipino independent (indie) film titled “DAGSIN” today and I must confess that I nearly broke down into tears at the end. And yes, I’d recommend it to hopeless romantics like myself. It’ll be well worth your while and your 150 pesos (only!).

I can only speak from the point of view of someone who’ve only seen mostly foreign films my entire life because this was how we were raised – no “bakya” TV shows or movies. “DAGSIN” is world-class quality, in my humble observation. I’m captivated

PONDO NG PINOY: GREAT IDEA TURNED HORRIBLY WRONG

As a parent of a child who attended St. James Academy, a 90-year old Catholic school in Malabon City, I experienced the yearly fund-raising effort of the Catholic Church called "Pondo ng Pinoy". I think that the "Pondo ng Pinoy" concept is laudable and it should be promoted perpetually. However, as a parent whose child is annually "mandated" to collect and fill-up a sizable container of 25-centavo coins and NOTHING ELSE - it has become an unnecessary burden.

Yes, we're not allowed to include 1-peso or 5-peso coins in the bottle, even if it means more in total value. And during the time

LONG OVERDUE FIXES FOR LRT, MRT: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS ARE SUFFERING DAILY

I hope that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s administration can finally put in place a lasting solution to the LRT-MRT problem in his first year in office. I think that a “first aid” fix, like more trains, faster travel time and cooler air-conditioning system, for the first 100 days isn’t too much to ask. The tens of thousands of daily riders, who’ve suffered long enough over a span of past incompetent administrations, will certainly appreciate and remember that.

It is deplorable that our primary mass transport system, underdeveloped as it is, was heavily neglected and now the riding public

RADIAL ROAD 10: A LONG-NEGLECTED OPTION TO HELP DECONGEST EDSA

Did you know that Radial Road 10 (R10) is the shortest (and quickest) way to the southwest portions of Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parñaque, Las Piñas or the entire Cavite province if you’re coming from Malabon City, Navotas City, Caloocan City, Quezon City (portion), Valenzuela City or Bulacan?

Unlike EDSA that arches (semi-circle) thru Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati & Pasay – R10 is like almost a straight path along the pier. Of course, past urban planners apparently recognized this and that is why they made provisions to