The Tutuban Mall and the squatters, now called informal urban settlers, have taken over the railways of the Philippine National Railways (PNR). Lack of budget, lack of maintenance, inefficiency and corruption, neglect, accidents, vehicular traffic, loss of customer satisfaction and confidence may have all added to the demise of the Philippine railway system.
I remember with nostalgia the days when my parents took me, my brother and sister on a train ride from Tutuban to Dagupan City. The architectural beauty of the art-deco Tutuban station always amazed me. The train was squeaky clean, fast and the unobstructed view of the fields and mountains that ran by the window along the route was fantastic. I remember the conductors who were always so well-dressed in their uniforms and ever courteous to the passengers. In Dagupan, we would transfer to PNR buses, equally clean and efficient rolling assets, that took us to Baguio via the zigzag road. And then, of course, the Bicol Express became a paradigm of safe, economical and decent local tourism.
Well, the PNR is getting a shot in the arm and the railway service may restart to serve a larger sector of the market than what it is serving today. That is, assuming that Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will approve, what I refer to, as Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.'s railway initiative.
The proposed rehabilitation will have six simultaneous projects: Rehabilitation of existing Manila to Legaspi railway line, rehabilitation of the existing Manila to San Fernando, La Union railway line, construction of a new Calamba to Batangas railway line, extension of the Manila-Legaspi line to Matnog, Sorsogon; construction of the Iloilo City to Roxas City railway line, and the construction of the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan City railway line.
The total project cost would be P37.9 Billion or about U.S. $730 M, $400 M would come from the largely unused Official Development Assistance Fund provided by Japan, European and Canadian sources; $100 M from congressional appropriations and $200 M from a BOT consortium headed by a group from China.
The proposal includes the construction of 150,000 units of low-rise urban dwelling for the families that are occupying the easement spaces along the railroad tracks.
The rehabilitation that will be put in place will not produce a railway system that is as modern as the one in Japan or Europe. It will, however, provide an economical means of transporting people and goods across the length and breadth of our country. Whatever remains of the old railway system will be recovered and utilized, thus, the cost becomes affordable. For comparison purposes, just a section of the elevated railway in Metro Manila cost U.S. $1.2 B.
If I may add, the proposed railway system should be either elevated or underground at crossing points with Metro Manila streets in order to avoid the worsening of traffic congestion due to train crossings. All in all, the initiative of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. is a splendid one, timely and relevant, that deserves the support of Pres. Arroyo and everyone.
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Iron Curtain used to refer to the communist U.S.S.R. and East Berlin. Both are now gone. The former United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.) consisted of Russia and its wide expanse of occupied territories. Russian leaders Michael Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, and upon the provocation of American president Ronald Reagan, converted the monolithic world power into a scattering of democratic and free enterprise states. The world is much safer now with the dismantling of the Iron Curtain.
March 5 was the anniversary of the speech that gave birth to the term, Iron Curtain. Nine months after Sir Winston Churchill failed to be reelected as Britain's Prime Minister, he traveled by train with President Harry Truman to make a speech. On March 5, 1946, at the request of Westminster College in the small Missouri town of Fulton (population of 7,000), Churchill gave his now famous Iron Curtain speech to a crowd of 40,000. In addition to accepting an honorary degree from the college, Churchill made one of his most famous post-war speeches.
In this speech, Churchill gave the very descriptive phrase that surprised the United States and Britain, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent." Before this speech, the U.S. and Britain had been concerned with their own post-war economies and had remained extremely grateful for the Soviet Union's proactive role in ending World War II. It was Churchill's speech, which he titled "The Sinews of Peace," that changed the way the democratic West viewed the Communist East. Many people consider Churchill's Iron Curtain speech as the beginning of the Cold War.
Churchill said: � "When I stand here this quiet afternoon I shudder to visualize what is actually happening to millions now and what is going to happen in this period when famine stalks the earth. None can compute what has been called 'the unestimated sum of human pain.' Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war.
"In front of the Iron Curtain which lies across Europe are other causes for anxiety. In Italy the Communist Party is seriously hampered by having to support the Communist-trained Marshal Tito's claims to former Italian territory at the head of the Adriatic. Nevertheless the future of Italy hangs in the balance. Again one cannot imagine a regenerated Europe without a strong France. All my public life I have worked for a strong France and I never lost faith in her destiny, even in the darkest hours. I will not lose faith now. However, in a great number of countries, far from the Russian frontiers and throughout the world, Communist fifth columns are established and work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directions they receive from the Communist centre. Except in the British Commonwealth and in the United States where Communism is in its infancy, the Communist parties or fifth columns constitute a growing challenge and peril to Christian civilization. These are somber facts for anyone to have to recite on the morrow of a victory gained by so much splendid comradeship in arms and in the cause of freedom and democracy; but we should be most unwise not to face them squarely while time remains" . . .
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One time we read about the cramped situation in airplanes and the observation of a doctor in a Japanese international airport that the incidence of passengers who complained of dizziness and general malaise after a flight had gone up. He diagnosed the passengers as suffering from blood clots that probably developed from restricted blood circulation. The press was quick to give the ailment a name - "Economy class syndrome", that now refers to a health condition that occurs as a result of long hours of sitting in a cramped airline seat, not necessarily in the economy class but in any part of the airplane where space is unforgiving; serious problem, indeed, that may even lead to death. It is possible that the passengers who got sick had earlier health problems, with or without their knowledge, and the cramped space either had nothing to do with the problem or was merely a minor contributing factor to it. Neverthess, the bottom line is, a medical check-up before a long-haul flight may serve the interest of some people and manufacturers and operators ought to improve the space conditions in their airplanes.
Cruise ships afford the passengers a comfortable and stylish travel albeit slow. The blimp Hindenburg was an attempt to crossbreed relaxing travel and speed; but the Hindenburg burned and killed its passengers when it exploded upon landing in Lakehurst, New York, May 6, 1937, 7 pm: "The Hindenburg has come all the way from Europe - a luxurious flying hotel, faster than any ship. Now it is going to bring its passengers back down to earth. But all of a sudden, the pride of the Third Reich burst into flames."
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Airbus Industries recently advertised in glossy 3-page spreads the new millenium's flying hotel: "It doesn't just take you to your hotel, it is your hotel . . ." It is a helluva airplane with a reception lobby, bedrooms with shower, shops and a bar. Airbus C.E.O. Noel Forgeard said: "The A380 (also known as A3XX) is the aircraft of the future. An aircraft that the market clearly wants, providing the solution to increasing traffic and congestion in the 21st century, while bringing unprecedented levels of comfort to passengers, and increasing airlines� operating efficiency. With 49 per cent more usable floor space than its competitor and only one-third more seats, the A380 will provide everyone with more space and comfort.�
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Cuba will open its doors to tourists. No. 1 tourist attrraction will be the oldest and longest -serving leader of a country - Fidel Castro.
Septuagenarian Ernie Maceda runs for senator. He forgets the election is still in 2004. Gloria will appoint Mike ambassador-at-large. Out-of-sight out-of-trouble.
Vietnam will sponsor a reunion among living Viet Congs and American GIs and the largest POW prison in Hanoi called Hanoi Hilton will serve as party center. The former enemies will rap together.
Gordon sees rise in tourism. Of Filipinos going abroad to find jobs.
New York will be visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world who will come to see the ruins of the World Trade Center. Platforms will be set up so guests can have a good vantage point of Ground Zero. Debris from the fallen towers will be sold as souvenirs.
Commander Robot runs out of battery. Surrenders to the Army.
Bush will issue a stamp with the face of Bin Ladin on it. So all Americans can spit on him every time they post a mail. The day that Bin Ladin dies or gets killed by the U.S. Marines it will be an American holiday.
Spoiled brat Nur Misuari is sent to center for children with behavioral problems.
Prisoners and children in China who work in factories for a pittance will become unionized and ask for higher wages. A department store in the USA will remove from the shelf every item that is made in China. It will have nothing left to sell.
Large Swiss dairy conglomerate will be interested in developing Bohol�s Chocolate Hills.
Finally, the investigators will discover, two Japanese killed Nida Blanca. Mr Hakahaka and Mr Kurukuro.
Filipina OCW in Saudi Arabia leads revolt for equality. Veils will be shed down. Lipstick and beauty salon sales will go up. Husbands will start coming home early instead of hanging around in mosques..
Punongbayan will predict more volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Congress will increase his budget.
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