How dire is it in Metro Manila?

Jim Phipps

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Former Combat and CONUS Combat Arms Company Commander at U.S. Army

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How dire is it in Metro Manila?

Originally Answered: How dire is it in Manila, the Philippines?

Manila based on my experience is a city of extremes.

1. Too much traffic and no real solutions in Metro Manila
2. Too many people
3. Extremes with poverty and probably 99% of the people are struggling financially
4. The airport and ports need vast modernization
5. Transit for containers to the port is a problem for the Philippines
6. Corruption is real. Look at how politicians live vs. all other Filipinos.
7. Education institutions seem to be more common in Manila than elsewhere. The Philippines badly needs to build more public universities in the provinces.
8. Pollution is a problem just about everywhere
9. Homelessness is extremely common like on parts of Mabini Street
10. Law enforcement remains weak in Manila. Most security is done everywhere with white shirt rentacops everywhere, especially in places where the PNP should be like at the airport.
11. Shopping is a bit of a challenge. My Filipina wife and I went to several “grocery stores” for Philippine staples. The provinces have better options. Manila grocery stores are usually nothing more than a source of staples. As a Texan, the stores are quite different from the US with few foods a Texan will enjoy.
12. Drivers are dangerous and bad. We rode a tricycle bicycle with a dumb guy who went at least 4 blocks the wrong way on a one-way street at NIGHT. My Filipino wife and I had a discussion about her choice of transportation.
13. In Manila and really all of the Philippines, drivers make no effort to give the right of way to emergency vehicles like ambulances.
14. The reliability of some venues (like the zoo) and other places is substandard and was a huge disappointment for the children. We went to the Marine Park and Fort Santiago.
15. Carrying cash is a necessity in that the vast majority of merchants do not accept credit cards. This is true across the nation. This keeps the nation a decade or more beyond the rest of the world.
16. The internet in Manila is sometimes better than in the provinces but is still extremely slow.
17. Public transport is still done by Jeepneys and municipal buses are essentially non-existent. Even the municipal rail systems while cheap are inadequate and extremely crowded. In my view not unlike cities like Austin, Texas do not meet the needs of Manila.
18. Transportation between the provinces is limited to PAL or Cebu Pacific airlines or more common ocean ferries with a spotty safety record. This severely limits getting to and from Manila from the provinces. Good rail service and freeways in Luzon to Leyte, Mindanao, the Visayas, Cebu, Palawan with bridges or safe ferries limit Manila and the whole nation.