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Our clear and present problem with DPWH and certain contractors
I was going to write about the new taxi service and TNVS I used recently during this long weekend. Unfortunately, I lost focus and “gana” after reading about the collusion among DPWH officials and certain contractors about flood control projects. Here are my sentiments today that I shared on my social media account:
“Bakit walang pasok bukas? Kasi may nagbabadyang masamang panahon. Baka bumaha? Bakit babaha? Alam na siguro natin ang sagot sa tanong na ito? Damay-damay na yan. Resilience na lang ba ng mga taong nagbabayad ng buwis ang kasagutan? Di ba dapat may managot sa kung bakit patuloy tayong binabaha samantalang bilyones o trilyones ng kaban ng bayan ang ginagastos? Naiisip ba natin na yung pinagpaguran, pinagpapaguran at pagpapaguran natin ay napupunta sa mga nanlalamang? Wala nga siguro silang nararamdaman at napapansin habang nakasakay sa kabilang magagarang sasakyan. Tayo naman, hanggang tiis sa paglusong sa baha at mag ‘abangers’ sa anunsyo ng walang pasok.”
With the recent revelations of these contractors having the propensity to purchase luxury items like expensive vehicles, do we still wonder why these people cannot feel what ordinary people experience during these times of inclement weather? Hindi nga siguro maramdaman ang baha o ang mga lubak sa daan pag naka SUV ka. To be quite direct about this, I would like to personally drag them to experience the floods and maybe submerge their homes for a few days so we’re even. I am probably not alone with my sentiments.
Flood control is probably just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are just so many other projects including roads and bridges that also need to be investigated for anomalies. Will the current administration act on this? Or are we just being taken for a ride with all these lip service and grandstanding by politicians and government officials?
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Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year?
Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year? Is it even probable? As it turns out, yes. Here’s an article on what Helsinki did in order to make this a reality:
Andrei, M. (August 1, 2025) “Helsinki went a full year without a traffic death. How did they do it?” ZME Science, https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/helsinki-went-a-full-year-without-a-traffic-death-how-did-they-do-it/ [Last accessed: 8/19/2025]
To quote from the article:
“A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important,” said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city’s Urban Environment Division.
More than half of Helsinki’s streets have a speed limit of 30 km/h (approximately 20 mph). Half a century ago, the city barely had half of its area with a 50 km/h limit (30 mph). They gradually worked to reduce the speed limit, especially around schools and kindergartens.
Smarter street design also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure was prioritized for upgrades in recent years. More and more people started using public transit or bikes, or just walking. Substantial investments also made public transit more efficient and reliable.“Public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, and with it, the number of serious accidents,” Utriainen noted.
Another key component was bringing the police on board. Helsinki introduced automated traffic cameras and enforcement systems, which also helped bring down reckless driving.”
Examples of congestion pricing as applied in major cities
Here is a quick share of an article on cities that have been successful with congestion pricing:
Zukowski, D. (August 8, 2025) “5 cities with congestion pricing,” Smart Cities Dive, https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/5-cities-with-congestion-pricing/756987/ [Last accessed: 8/15/2025]
Quoting from the article:
“As cities around the world continue to see increased traffic delays, some have implemented congestion pricing programs to ease gridlock. Congestion pricing acts as a market-based mechanism: increasing the cost to drive in certain areas may encourage drivers to take alternate means of transport or travel at different times. Toll revenues can go to improving roadways and public transit or reducing other vehicle-related taxes.”
Indeed congestion pricing has been around and yet few cities have actually implemented congestion pricing schemes and have had success with it. In the Philippines, the discussions are basically on and off or intermittent. I recall there were already mention of congestion pricing in Metro Manila transport studies back in the 1970s but nothing really came out of those. Fast forward to the present and Baguio City in the northern Philippines implemented their version of number coding, which was supposedly a prelude to some form of congestion pricing but apparently is more of a travel demand management (TDM) scheme along the lines of Metro Manila’s UVVRP. Will we have our own proof of concept sometime soon even for a smaller area or district in any Philippine city? That will also be dependent on whether our so-called leaders can engage their constituents in meaningful discussions on the benefits of congestion pricing.
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Is there really a shortage of public transportation in Metro Manila? – Part 1 – Introduction
I will be doing a series of articles here on public transportation. More specifically, I will try to answer the question in the main title of the series – Is there really a shortage of public transportation in Metro Manila?
The quick answer probably is “yes” but we need to examine this concern from different perspectives and reasons so we can be objective about the “why” part of the shortage. Shortage may mean a real lack in terms of the number of public utility vehicles (PUVs) with approved franchises or perhaps the number actually operating on any given day. These two are actually different because it is possible to have fewer PUVs operating compared to the approved number or to have more PUVs operating than the approved number. The latter means there are “colorum” or illegal operations (i.e., vehicles providing public transport services without franchises).
Among the reasons why there is a perceived shortage of public transportation are as follows:
- Fewer than the number of franchises approved are operating.
- PUVs are not able to make a reasonable turnaround (e.g., due to traffic congestion).
- PUV drivers and operators refusing to operate their vehicles.
- Other factors.
- Any combination of the above including “all of the above.”
I hope I can write about these in a manner that can be easily understood – in layman’s terms.
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Quick comments on the NCAP
The No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) is finally being implemented in Metro Manila. The results so far has been dramatic in terms of the number of violations recorded and the images being shared so far about how motorists are behaving. Below is one of those photos being shared on social media to which I added some annotations. I will use this later to comment on the NCAP and how we can use the outcomes to assess the transportation situation and determine what interventions can be done. Some are already obvious from the photo – the lack of public transport options lead to people depending on private motor vehicles like cars and motorcycles for their commutes. MRT7 is yet to be operational and road public transport has not been rationalized.
More on this topic soon!
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Article share: on improving road safety in the midst of automobile dependency and sprawl
I am sharing another very informative article on road safety. While it is written for North American cities, most concepts and principles presented are applicable elsewhere and especially in cities and municipalities that tend to model their development after America. Increasing dependence on private vehicles (not just automobiles but including motorized two and three-wheelers) have resulted in increasing incidence of road crashes and though we have limited space, we tend to develop land as if we can afford sprawl and its consequences. Here is the article:
Litman, T. (April 25, 2025) “End Human Sacrifices to the Demanding Gods of Automobile Dependency and Sprawl,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/134838-end-human-sacrifices-demanding-gods-automobile-dependency-and-sprawl?utm_source=Planetizen+Updates&utm_campaign=d3fcb4d16b-newswire_05_05_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-6cce27a957-89144212&mc_cid=d3fcb4d16b&mc_eid=9ccfe464b1 [Last accessed: 16/05/2025]
To quote from the article:
“North American transportation agencies currently apply various older strategies, which should not be ignored, but to achieve additional crash reductions they need new strategies, such as those listed in the following table. The older strategies are targeted programs applied after most major transportation and land use planning decisions are made. New strategies include structural reforms involving more multimodal transportation planning, more compact development, transportation demand management incentives and parking policy reforms. This recognizes that all types of planning decisions affect transportation safety, and that many policies can increase safety in addition to other economic, social and environmental benefits.
The new paradigm expands traffic safety strategies to include structural reforms that increase transport system diversity and efficiency. They tend to provide many economic, social and environmental benefits in addition to safety.”
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Solutions to transport problems: the combination of congestion pricing and transit infrastructure development
Congestion pricing and transit infrastructure development (e.g., mass transit infrastructure) are often mentioned separately or independently. It is as if they are mutually exclusive alternatives or solutions to our transportation problems. They are not and should be considered together for greater impacts and also to complement each other. While the article below focuses on the experience in the United States, the experience is Singapore as applied to cities should provide a model that can be adopted if not outrightly replicated. Singapore’s version of congestion pricing in the form of its Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme has been very effective in regulating congestion levels while helping fund public transportation in the city-state.
Descant, S. (May 8, 2025) “Congestion Pricing and Transit Are a Necessary Alliance,” Government Technology, https://www.govtech.com/transportation/congestion-pricing-and-transit-are-a-necessary-alliance %5BLast accessed: 11/05/2025]
Quoting from the article:
“In order to move a congestion pricing proposal forward, “you must have serious congestion, and you must have good transit,” said Sam Schwartz, a former New York City traffic commissioner, said during a March 21 panel on the New York City congestion pricing program. The event was organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mobility Initiative. Schwartz is also the CEO of Sam Schwartz Pedestrian Traffic Management Services, a consulting firm.
A recent report by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University in California concluded roadway tolling — a form of congestion pricing — can serve the dual purpose of reducing traffic congestion and supporting transit options, if the programs are structured properly.”
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Let’s act on road safety crisis!
May is Road Safety Month. It’s quite ironic that we started the month with some of the most gruesome crashes including one at SCTEX and another at NAIA. There is indeed a crisis on road safety but many are in denial or perhaps insensitive to the impacts of these crashes. We need to act and only together can we be most effective in reducing the risks for all road users.
So what can one do? How can one contribute to making roads safer? Sharing this poster from the Road Safety Research Laboratory (RSRL) of the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) of the University of the Philippines:
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On safe school zones
We’ve been working for safer roads since I started practicing as a transportation engineer/planner. Most recently, we were working on a program supported by UNICEF on Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention (CRTIP). The work towards safer roads especially for those who are most vulnerable is always challenging but it is something that is definitely worthwhile. As we approach May, which is Road Safety Month in the Philippines, I will try to write more about road safety.
Here is an infographic shared by the Road Safety Research Laboratory of the National Center for Transportation Studies of the University of the Philippines:
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More garbage along our streets
Election Day approaches in the Philippines and despite certain rules that are supposed to be in place and followed by candidates and their supporters. Enforcement from the COMELEC is really bad (and that’s the truth everywhere around the country). Otherwise, we’d have a lot of disqualifications every election and perhaps many incumbent politicians won’t be able to run for office. Here are a few examples in my home city of Antipolo in Rizal where a dynasty “rules” and also has connections with another family in Cavite.
Antipolo’s city hood anniversary tarp features a Cavite politician who is closely related to the current leaders of the city and the Province of Rizal. Below the tarp are posters of a Pampanga politician who is also a movie actor like the other guy.
Antipolo roads are full of these campaign materials. Supporters have not spared private property of the garbage.
Perhaps those who will do the Alay Lakad to Antipolo this coming Maundy Thursday should each remove a poster, tarp or more as they journey to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. This could be part of their penance and serve also as cleansing of minds in preparation for elections.
Try to explain again how these politicians are not overspending (and probably charging the costs to taxpayers). The math is pretty easy. You can check how much a politician’s monthly income is based on the salary grade of the position he/she is running for. Compare that to the amount spent for his/her campaign. You can’t recover the amount spent in one term. Are they billionaires willing to part with their money to get elected to positions that demand a lot in terms of the competence and dedication to good governance. Rather, the suspicion is that politicians will likely be corrupt and get his/her money back in a variety of ways to recover millions or even billions spent. It’s really a vicious cycle that doesn’t end well for the Filipino people in terms of the infrastructure and services we could have if only politicians moderated their greed.
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Caught (up) in traffic 