Babe's Eye View article

Despite the announcement by oil companies of a P1 rollback on the price of gasoline, people will continue to feel the pinch with fuel costs expected to hit $200 per barrel by yearend. The noticeably diminished volume of vehicles in EDSA plus jam-packed LRT and MRT stations are clear proof that more people are being forced to take public transport.

On one hand, this is encouraging since this means lesser traffic and pollution, but the downside is the discomfort endured by commuters squeezed like sardines inside the stuffy cars, with some Filipinos thinking they're Italians pinching the behind of female passengers, and pickpockets plying their trade.

The overflowing number of people taking the trains is getting officials worried due to the possibility of the cars collapsing. No doubt, the LRT/MRT are more viable for many people, but as MRT general manager Bobby Lastimoso disclosed, the trains can only take so much having reached critical mass.

The global food and fuel crisis are affecting everyone—the rich, the middle class but most especially the poor whose resentment is simmering at the unabated surge in prices. Food and transportation are two of the most basic needs of people. If nothing is done to ease the situation, this might spark social unrest. While government is taking measures to help people cope, it seems they're more inclined to go for short-term solutions.

It was rather surprising for Ed Ermita to say this is "not the time to do long-range planning," batting for the implementation of stopgap measures. While he was simply echoing Malacañang's directive to "respond to the need of the moment," it is precisely this attitude that has gotten us into this kind of situation. The trouble with us Filipinos is we have always been reactive not proactive, always scrambling for action only when a situation becomes critical.

It's probably no coincidence that after seven long years, they're now rushing the long-overdue 20-kilometer, $1.23 billion MRT-7 project that spans from West Avenue to Monumento extending all the way to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan. The network can reportedly service two million commuters and hopefully, it will be ready before the end of Gloria's term in 2010.

Ironically, the Philippines built the first ever mass transport system in Southeast Asia, even ahead of Singapore. But limited foresight plus political and legal impediments derailed the implementation of many projects that could have fast-tracked this country's development.

Early this year, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong announced their key focus for 2008 would be the improvement of their public transport system to encourage more Singaporeans to take the bus or train instead of driving cars. A major factor is the anticipated increase in Singapore's population from 4.3 million to 6.5 million.

Kuala Lumpur drafted "Plan 2020" where 11 new and extension rail lines will be built precisely to meet the projected 600,000 population increase in the city. Macau is also intensifying efforts to improve its rail system after several setbacks since 2002, with plans to develop a new elevated light rail system to transport over 100,000 people a day. But as one Malaysian official said, it is passive to just increase the number of buses or expand train networks in proportion to the population. Rather, world class cities should consider all aspects of public transport with clear guidelines made to manage this on a long-term basis. I repeat, on a "long-term basis."

We have known for a long time that we have a very high population growth rate. In five years there will be 100 million Filipinos and this future population surge is something we have to take into account especially in light of the current global crisis with the possibility of people fighting for limited food and resources.

The other day, there was a news item about Isabelans going back to using the kalesa and carabao due to zooming fuel costs. People can take leisurely kalesa rides in rural areas since the pace is more laidback and pollution is not as bad as in the city, but farmers reverting to ancient farming techniques at this time is rather dismal.

Aside from transportation, a visionary approach should be applied to other critical areas for this country to move ahead and be at par with the rest of the world. In this day and age where technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, a country without vision will be left out in the cold and the Philippines will freeze to stagnation unless it gets its act together. The future hinges a lot on internet technology and progress can be accelerated if the rest of the country has connectivity. The national broadband deal would have been the answer, but it has been hounded by controversy.

And now you have Romulo Neri being appointed as SSS president, obviously some kind of reward for his loyalty—an act for which I can't blame GMA. After all, that's the way it is—the president has the prerogative to appoint or fire Cabinet members. But instead of concentrating on long-term solutions for the many problems we have, the great politicos in this country are typically focusing more on why so-and-so is being appointed.

Countries suffering the most during times of global crisis are the ones that lack vision and are bogged down by politics. It's probably to GMA's credit that whatever people say about her, she's determined to do what she thinks is the best option to get the job done. At the end of the day, a country without a vision is bound to go into perdition.