If building a subway takes a generation, we need a solution that works in this one.

In an article last December 2025, the Philippines saw a 2.16% drop in tourist arrivals cited by the tourism department,^[1]and in a Southeast Asia report, Thailand leads the countries in SEA with 32.9 million arrivals, followed by Malaysia (26.6M), Vietnam (21.1M), Singapore (16.9M), and Indonesia (14.7M) — with the Philippines ranking 6th with 5.8 million, just 300,000 tourism shy from Cambodia's 5.5 million.^[2]

In visiting another country, people have a lot of reasons to do so, others want to learn about culture, some want to enjoy their vacation and some pure business too.

This representation from the decline in tourist arrival may be far from how BRT can solve the problem in Metro Manila's traffic, but it may be one of the underlying reasons why tourists don't find the Philippines as a destination hub.

Let's put things into context, 15.6 million are the total arrivals cited by the Bureau of Immigration for the year 2025.^[3] And from these numbers, the Department of Tourism recorded approximately 4.9 million foreign tourists for January to November 2025 alone.^[1]

Don't get me wrong, we Filipinos are hospitable, we Filipinos are good communicators but at the same time, it is undeniable that we as a country have terrible public transportation. I mean, what's the first means of transportation these tourists are expected to use, especially if all terminals of NAIA are not even connected with each other, on top of that, these terminals are not even connected to any mass public transportation at all.^[4]

Again, Metro Manila already represents 14 million people as a population during night time and safely assumes 15 million people during day time, plus 4.9 million foreign travelers — I mean that is a total of 19 million numbers alone.

Okay, okay, we might be overly doing our computation, so let's make it accurate per se, distributed across twelve months, that's an additional 408,000 passengers per month competing for the same broken transportation system.

I mean, if I were these foreign nationals, I'd rather travel in Metro Manila during the night time to have less competition, right? Might as well travel while the rest of the 15 million are taking their sleep.

I mean, Rizal Monument might even be more beautiful during the night? Right?

The core argument of this paper is to not to hinder long-term solutions that we are building already, we recognize that and we acknowledge that, but it's undeniably hard to imagine living your day-to-day lives while waiting for subway lines that will inaugurate at least for the next 5 years, or another rail extensions that will open for the next 3 years.

3 years means 1,095 days, 5 years means 1,825 days.

This is why we present the belief that the bus system can help ease our long wait. We have been telling our commuters to wait for the next 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, but what about their tomorrow? What about next week? What about next month? Can we just simply say — wait for the next rail to open and things will be better?

It's hard to imagine for us to wait another “x” amount of days for it to open, but assumingly when those pending projects are done — can we even guarantee that a better public transportation is now real? Does the improvement of public transportation lie in completing one subway line? One new train line? Or another rail extension plan?

Following the Hierarchy of Movement, shows the potential of other modes of transportation. Transportation that moves the mass public and not just moves a few. Transportation that serves the people and does not create competition.

But infrastructure alone isn't the whole answer. Culture plays a significant role too.

One of the traditions that we have in our transportation culture is “para-po” culture. If we were to explain these to foreign visitors, it is a way of telling the jeepney drivers or even bus drivers that we want to get off, wherever we want.

As much as I want to preserve cultural reference in transportation, this one should be observed on tertiary roads, local roads only and not on arterial roads in Metro Manila.

‘Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus’, a latin legal maxim that translates to “false in one thing, false in everything”.

Not that we lie to where we depart, but when we do the “para-po” culture to someone, then we are now mandated to do it to us all, and when we say all, we mean by the 14 million people of this region plus the 408,000 tourists per se.

Imagine the rest of the 14 million are doing their own preferred way of stopping. This has been a long tradition that has impacted the transportation sector in Metro Manila. Yes, we cannot deny the fact that it is convenient to stop exactly where we want to stop but putting that context in the likes of Commonwealth Avenue, Roxas Boulevard, EDSA, a one “para-po” is enough to affect the cars/people behind them and cause traffic, by just doing a one “para-po”.

This is exactly why we need to discuss this as a society. Regardless of how beautiful we can create a system of transportation, if the “para-po” still exists in Metro Manila and its major roads then we are doomed.

This should start from us, commuters. We have to believe that sidewalks are designed for us. I know it's tough to walk under the ferocious sunlight of Metro Manila or the gutter level flood when “Habagat” season starts, but as a transportation level, it is a must. Of course engineering wise we can fix/better this, right?

We, people must move and not the bus stations for us. This is not an abuse, this is not even a sacrifice, this is the reality of living in the Metro.

As long as the policy making is designed for a few we will never have a better Metro Manila in terms of public transportation, but if we start making a decision that includes the 14 million in mind, it is relatively much easier and much better.

We don't live in these cities, we are the city yet it must be defined that it does not mean we are always right. I firmly believe not all 14 million Filipinos are always right.

If we simply ask ourselves, would the 14 million people benefit from these actions? If yes, then continue and if not then stop.

Should we park on the sidewalk? Should we load/unload randomly? Should we do “para-po” in Quezon Avenue? Should we build more BRTs? Should we create a network of bus systems?