This past week, the political scene was buzzing with more noise than usual. Which means just one thing: the election season is approaching. To be specific, it is the beginning of the 2019 election season as prospective candidates trooped to the Commission on Elections made their intentions known to run for various elected offices from senator to councilor. As a site that chronicles on the sights, sounds, and stories of Metro Manila, the Urban Roamer shall focus on some of the interesting races in Metro Manila to observe in the 2019 election season. Interesting in the sense that some of these races may turn out to be dirty and ugly,…
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Fort Bonifacio Developments: Monorail at the North and Senate at the South
Fort Bonifacio has been in the news as of late, thanks to two major developments that are being planned on both ends of the former military complex. On this edition of the Roundup, we shall take a closer look at both of these projects and what they entail for the future development of the area. But before we go further, there is one important thing that must be said about where these projects are to be located: they are NOT located within Bonifacio Global City. The thing is, Bonifiacio Global City is just part of the greater Fort Bonifacio area which extends from Kalayaan Avenue all the way up to…
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A Glimpse of Public Transportation’s Future
Let’s admit it. Public transportation in Metro Manila, and in the country in general, needs to be improved, which some may consider a total understatement. Not taking into consideration the problems with mass rail transportation (looking at you, Line 3), we are all too familiar the sight of people hanging by the entry rear of the jeepney, especially during rush hour, or the packed buses where passengers don’t have any space to wiggle. Then there is also the problem of pollution some of these vehicles emit thanks to poor fuel consumption, vehicles visibly suffering wear and tear but are still plying the roads. All these things compound the already very,…
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Federalism and Metro Manila – Part 2
Previously, we have discussed the matter of federalism and how it can help address the issue of congestion in Metro Manila for the region to achieve a more meaningful development. But as was pointed out last time, decongestion is just part of the equation to achieve this goal of a meaningful development. The other part of the equation is equally important, and that is governance. A metropolis of 17 kingdoms Metro Manila, sadly, presently suffers from an ill-conceived system of government that has often prevented measures that would have enabled meaningful development for the metropolis. The thing is, Metro Manila today is nothing more than a set of 17 little…
