Grace Poe is RIGHT About the MRT!

Still More Fun in the Philippines huh Mr. Guerrero?!

Grace Poe, the adopted daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces had given her assessment yesterday.  After watching it on GMA News, she's probably among a rare few to really show the reality of the MRT.  I also would link the Inquirer website to strike a point.

Now what has she revealed?  The defects can be recognized as follows that NEED to be fixed:

• Unbelievably long lines.
• Poorly maintained escalators and elevators.
• CRs with non-working toilets plus they are very stinky
• Poor airconditioner.

Grace Poe said it was a failing grade.  She was right.  Officials NEED to ride the MRT to see the severity of the situation that needs to be done.  Now it's time to share my reaction towards her.  This blog entry is in fact an open letter to Grace Poe commending her for showing the mistakes of the MRT that need to be fixed and that the government is in utter neglect.

It's really a problem to keep flashing David Guerrero's preposterous slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines".  Maybe the DOT even wants to put, "Riding trains... It's More Fun in the Philippines."  But how can it be more fun with all the survey's results?  The survey results are showing a lot of factors that can badly hurt tourism in the country.

Now let me share my experience of riding a train in Hong Kong and Singapore (which Failipinos call as everybody's favorite tyranny but theirs).  The lines were orderly, maintenance was serious, there were complaint forms, immediate action for defects and while it wasn't perfect, you can see that they really work hard to maintain the quality.  On the other hand, the MRT is one place that drives a person crazy because of the said conditions.  

This is turn can affect tourism as you know it.  How?  You can go ahead and flash "It's More Fun in the Philippines" but the truth can always backfire.  You cannot use that tagline to escape problems as it can be compared to taking narcotics to forget your problems.  You can go ahead and sloganeer it BUT a frustrated tourist is a frustrated tourist.  Instead of spending millions of pesos for stupid sloganeering, why doesn't the government really FIX its problems?  Oh wait, they don't have a culture of accountability which they badly need after all.