Our wanderlust & its infrastructure
Well positioned in the top echelon of today’s status symbols is travel. Much more so than yesterday, travel is practically every Filipino’s pipe dream. One need only check the social media posts of our friends and family to see how true this is — whether it be local resorts or foreign destinations. One need only attend one of the travel sales or tourism fairs and experience the “People Carmageddon” that would rival our worse EDSA nightmare.
So, with travel such a favorite pastime and obsession, one has to wonder why the sad plight of our Metro Manila airport situation? Sure, we may not be one of the worst anymore, a dubious honor NAIA gained in 2016, but we are still a long way from being on the list of best airports.
With tourism as one of the main thrusts to improve our economy, it’s evident that the Metro Manila airports need an urgent upgrade in order to keep up with other ASEAN destinations and to accommodate that hoped-for upsurge of visitors. This has resulted in a plethora of corporations and super-consortiums all putting proposals on the table, and vying to get the coveted green-lighted contracts. So, which really make sense and take into account long-term feasibility and foresight in planning?
The improvement of Clark would seem to be an obvious first step. It’s already standing, and would be a boon for the region, an ideal hub for travelers coming from the northern parts of Metro Manila, and for those who live in the surrounding provinces, as would the Bulacan proposal. But for someone who lives in, say, Alabang or Nuvali, at certain times of the year, the prospect of traversing through all of Metro Manila and driving on some 100 km. to get to Clark is a pretty daunting endeavor.
And so we say, let’s talk NAIA expansion. To my eye, this is a Band-Aid kind of solution as being smack dab in the city, there is only so much expansion that can be created. And if I look around, for some decades now, the trend all over the world has been to move these international airports outside of city centers. The increase in air traffic would be an accident waiting to happen as you have so many flights in holding patterns. Besides the obvious air safety issues, there’s noise pollution and air quality, just to mention a few other mitigating factors.
So, there’s the Sangley proposal. Just 25 km. away from Roxas Boulevard and with great connectivity via Coastal Road and Cavitex, a Sangley Airport, would in time, be complementary to Clark (and/or Bulacan). It would service the travelers from the Metro Manila South, and provinces such as Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Just as London has Heathrow and Stansted, as Tokyo has Narita and Haneda, we would make these airports be more efficient and convenient to the public, no matter where within Metro Manila they may be coming from.
I had the chance to look at one Sangley proposal, and it involves reclaiming land and creating an artificial island so we don’t touch the topography of the existing Cavite coastline. The Kansai Airport in Osaka and the present Hong Kong International Airport are examples of this type of developments — reclaimed land. And lower those eyebrows, as Roxas Boulevard itself is reclaimed land. And of more recent origin, where the Mall of Asia and Entertainment City now stand. For me, whether Clark or Sangley, it’s a matter of making sure the infrastructure is in place to make travel to these airports efficient, convenient, safe and accessible. Who of us visiting Hong Kong have not marvelled over their rail system connecting city to airport?
This is the future we are talking about, not just for our kids, but for our kids’ children as well. So, I just hope and pray we find and work on the right long-term solutions.
Digital surveillance
From start-ups, to starting again at mid-life, and the second installment of The Rook series; there’s much to savor and enjoy with these three novels of inspired speculation.
After On by Rob Reid (available at Fully Booked) After having taken on the recording industry via a visit from an extraterrestrial in his previous novel, Reid now takes aim at our digital world of apps and artificial intelligence (AI). As is his trademark style, Reid attacks the subject via informative prose, wry humor and touches of fantasy and wild imagination. At the core of this story is a small band of start-up entrepreneurs who have now been gobbled up by the digital giant, Phlutter. With rumored links to the military, industrial complex of the US, Phlutter is characterized as that “big brother” we’ve come to rely on, but should never have allowed “into the house.” When the second half of the book kicks in with a super intelligent AI that makes Siri look dumb, we enter espionage territory. Scary, yet frighteningly real. Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta (available at Fully Booked) After novels such as Election and
Little Children, we’ve come to expect a high standard from Perrotta. He specializes in suburbia, and making the ordinary and every day an exciting read. Here, we have two major narratives that start off from single mom Eve Fletcher bringing her only son to university. One narrative follows the son as he tries to fit in, while basically searching for the best parties and drinks — his simplified hopes for what college life means. The second narrative has Eve discovering “MILF” porn, while seeking mid-life fulfillment by taking some community college courses, and finding new friends that help bring her out of her proverbial shell. The well-meaning actions that lead to social gaffes and outright disasters are what propel both narratives. A wonderful read.
Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley (available at Fully Booked) For those who have read O’Malley’s first novel The Rook, it will be enough to say this is The Further Adventures and you’ll be rushing out to secure the novel. A mix of X-Men meets James Bond and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the treatment is marked by rich humor and intricate plotting that all adds up to hours of guilty-pleasure reading. In this one, Rook Myfanwy is still on board, but the focus of the story falls on the unlikely tandem of Pawn Felicity and a young, female Grafter. Ostensibly sworn enemies, the two end up having to trust and befriend each other when the Grafters call a truce and attempt to join forces with the Checquy. That a schism Grafter Group is out to abort the rapprochement leads to page-turning adventures. Paranormally fantastic!