Philippines - Climate change is here and now, 300,000 displaced by flood

Rain pounds Manila as flood death toll climbs - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English: "As of nightfall on Wednesday about 15 percent of Metro Manila, a low-lying city of 12 million people, was still flooded, down from 50 percent on Tuesday, said Mon Viloria of the city's civil defence office. The Philippine Red Cross said almost 300,000 people were living in evacuation centres or seeking shelter with friends and relatives."

MMDA chief takes public transpo, now what?

ABS-CBN News: "The petition noted that 80% of Metro Manila residents—including children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—take public transportation.

However, it noted that the dismal state of public transit "doesn’t allow them mobility with safety and civility."

"They suffer long lines, squeeze into jam-packed trains and rickety buses and jeeps, and endure long travel times. The government puts all its efforts in trying to solve traffic, but not in solving public transportation," the petition read."

Traffic justice and Manila’s traffic mess

Traffic justice and Manila’s traffic mess: "Why should buses — each carrying as many as 60-80 passengers — be forced out of the city just so private cars, carrying usually just one or two passengers each, could have more of the road to themselves? If only one in five Metro Manila residents owns a car, why should they be entitled to four out of five of EDSA’s lanes?"

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#climatechange "like a war" in The Philippines

ThinkProgress: "The Philippines regularly suffer damage from typhoons and super typhoons — the average is 20 storms a year — though the trend is increasing. The five most devastating typhoons on record have hit the Philippines since 1990, and as water temperatures increase, storms get stronger, and sea levels rise, storms have the potential to exact more and more damage on the island nation. Mary Ann Lucille Sering, the head of the Philippine government’s climate change commission, said in February that climate change was “like a war” in her country. Filipinos rate climate change as a larger threat than rising food and gas prices."

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Dead Fish After Huge Oil Spill in Philippines

The Jakarta Globe: "Manila. A huge oil spill shut down parts of the Philippine capital’s vital fishing industry Friday, jeopardizing the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people living along Manila Bay’s diesel-coated coast.

Dead fish floated on the water and some residents fell ill from the fumes, as authorities said an estimated 500,000 liters of oil cast a slick across 20-kilometers of the coastline.

“Many of our young and elderly residents are getting sick,” Marcos Solis, the captain of a fishing village near the worst of the oil spill, told AFP."

Manila caters to car drivers while 80% of people are on #publictransit

InterAksyon.com: "Eight out of 10 is more than a supermajority - that's nearly the whole city! In Metro Manila, the people who ride cars are the minority. They are the exceptions. And yet our public officials have only focused on curing traffic congestion rather than improving public transportation. This is insane"

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Philippines losing USD 55 million a day in traffic congestion waste

Online petition urges government officials to experience commuting to work | GulfNews.com: "According to Director General Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic Development Authority, the Philippines is losing as much as P2.4 billion (Dhs 203,561,060, USD 55,200,000) per day in potential income as a result of traffic congestion problem and lost productivity."

..."We keep building roads and flyovers that only encourage more people to drive their cars. But we don’t invest in facilities that make it easier for transit riders to get from point A to point B.”

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President Benigno Aquino III: Please require ALL public officials to take public transit once a month!

Change.org: "Dear President Aquino,

80% of Metro Manila residents—including children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—take public transportation.

Yet the dismal state of public transit doesn’t allow them mobility with safety and civility. They suffer long lines, squeeze into jam-packed trains and rickety buses and jeeps, and endure long travel times.

The government puts all its efforts in trying to solve traffic, but not in solving public transportation.

We keep building roads and flyovers that only encourage more people to drive their cars. But we don’t invest in facilities that make it easier for transit riders to get from point A to point B. These facilities include comfortable bus, jeep, and train stops, wide sidewalks, and well-designed walkways that connect the different modes of transport.

The only way government officials will understand the plight of commuters is if they themselves take public transit regularly.

Please require all government officials, including Malacañang staff and senior cabinet officials, to take public transit at least once a month.

Please make this sacrifice so you can all understand the daily realities faced by the majority of your fellow Filipinos. "