Anyone old enough to remember what Manila and several key cities in the region looked like 30 years ago can only be depressed when they visit those Asian cities these days. In the past three decades the premier region of the Philippines remained mired in urban blight as key cities in the region forged ahead with massive cleanup programs, decongestion and infrastructure modernization. While those cities continue to grapple with the plagues of the modern world such as air pollution, they have made impressive progress.
In contrast, 30 years since Manila was considered one of Asia’s premier cities, what have we got for the world to see? Gaudy pink enclosures where men can relieve themselves instead of on walls or lampposts. Pink fences everywhere because motorists and pedestrians refuse to observe street discipline unless they are left with no choice. Women and children begging in the streets, and vendors pushing carts of boiled peanuts right smack on Roxas Boulevard.
Every major infrastructure project becomes bogged down in a corruption scandal. We cannot even open a third airport terminal or start a railway system without controversy. And people simply refuse to learn proper garbage disposal. Metro Manila is a giant pigsty, and much of it has to do with public attitude.
We cannot even launch a serious decongestion program without the government being threatened with a popular revolt and cops being slapped with accusations of human rights violations. Efforts to relocate squatters are often thwarted by local government officials themselves, who have come to depend on slum areas for votes come election time. Never mind if those voters actually have no permanent address, do not pay taxes and have illegal water and electricity connections. They constitute a significant power base, and that’s all that matters to a typical Filipino politician.
A face-lift for Metro Manila? We’d love to see that. The way things stand, however, it will have to remain a dream.