It is that time of the year once again, especially for music-lovers in the metro. Fete de la Musique, the annual music festival organized by Alliance Francaisede Manille, (the French cultural body in the country) will once again bring rhythms of different genres on June 21, Saturday at various venues around the metropolis. This year marks the 20th year of this music festival. To mark this occasion, Fete de la Musique will be celebrated simultaneously on the 3 main stages across 2 cities and 19 pocket stages where one can check them out for free.
Roamer’s Roundup
An Open Letter to the “Transport Caravan” Protesters
Dear Transport Caravan Protesters:
You may not know me personally…or maybe you do if you’ve watched some TV a few years ago. But that’s not what I’m driving at. I am first and foremost a commuter, a commuter who has long availed of public transport that you folks provide so I can go to work or some place I need to go to.
I understand that today, a number of you chose not to service commuters like me because you are fighting against what you perceive as an unjust policy to be implemented by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) that will raise penalties for colorum (without franchise) vehicles. I suppose you believe in this cause so much that you paralyzed public transport leaving thousands like myself stranded for more than an hour due to the scarcity of available public transportation. Good job there, guys. Good job.
It’s More Fun in Manila!
So says this new TV advertisement from the Department of Tourism. And despite the issues and challenges the capital city is facing, there is still that unique charm and mystique that people will be surprised to see that Manila still has to offer. May this video help you discover things. But the Urban Roamer must … Read more
The Question of the Common Station
If the problems of malfunctioning trains and the alleged corrupt practices of the sacked/resigned general manager of a metropolitan rail transit administering body were not enough woes to the metropolis’ mass transport system, well here comes another one that is surely to make mass transportation “more fun in Metro Manila.”
The issue at stake now is the building of a common station, which is intended to the common terminal for mass rail transit Lines 1 and 3, as well as that of the planned Line 7 which would run all the way to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan. This would be the vital missing ingredient that was missing that would make at least the current mass transit loop of Lines 1 and 3 complete as at the moment, passengers are deprived of what would have been a convenient transfer between lines.
At the crux of this issue is a dispute as to where it would be located, something that may or may not involve some external forces at play. At stake is the welfare of millions of commuters who will benefit from the convenience or inconvenience of this common station, depending on where it will eventually be built.