Metro Manila ranks 103rd in global livability, far behind Bangkok at 93rd and Tokyo at 3rd.
Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar “Egay” Erice describred this as a humbling fall for a capital region that in the 1960s was considered one of Asia’s most modern cities and whose country had the second-largest economy in Asia after Japan.
Erice made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 8, in a wide-ranging discussion on what went wrong with Metro Manila and what must be done to fix it.
The lawmaker said the contrast with South Korean capital Seoul is particularly striking: Metro Manila and the South Korean capital are nearly identical in population and land area, with Seoul at roughly 10 million people across 600 square kilometers and Metro Manila at 13 million across 630 square kilometers.
“Kung ikukumpara mo sa Seoul, Korea na medyo magkahalintulad in terms of population, sila ay halos 10 million, tayo 13 million. Land area 600 square kilometers, tayo 630 square kilometers, more or less the same. Pero ibang-iba. Malayo ang Seoul, Korea sa Metro Manila,” Erice said.
He said the divergence between the two cities is not a matter of resources or geography but of governance — Seoul planned for its growth, invested in urban renewal, and built institutions with the authority to enforce integrated policies across the entire metropolitan area.
Erice recalled that in the 1990s, Bangkok was itself paralyzed by traffic worse than Metro Manila’s, with a trip from a hotel to the airport taking two hours, but the Thai capital responded with a comprehensive urban renewal program that added skyways and an extensive train network.
“Natatandaan ko nung mga 1990s, nagpunta ako sa Bangkok. Sobrang traffic. From my hotel to the airport, na-late ng dalawang oras. Ngayon, sobra-sobra na ang tren. Tapos yung mga skyways, so skyways and trains. Ibid sabihin may urban renewal program sila,” Erice said.
He said the Philippines, by contrast, allowed Metro Manila to grow without planning, and is still paying the price decades later in the form of flooding, gridlock, and a garbage crisis that has no end in sight under the current governance structure.
