Thursday, November 03, 2005

KVETCH! KVETCH! KVETCH!

BUGGING OUT!
Oh yoo hoo! Vilma Santos! Oh yoo hoo! Ralph Recto! Mayor Dimacuha! Governor Manandas! Whoever! May I please have a quick word with you?

I have walked trough some depressed areas in downtown Manila. Deep, dark, unknown areas that one might think would be a hotbed of disease and grime. But believe me. Nothing, I tell you, nothing found on Manila's streets could ever compare to the trash that I have seen lining the roads of your province. Now, not that I want to start a fight here (considering that one of your provinces main exports is knives) but what is it about you guys? Am I just taking crazy pills or are you a really filthy bunch? On the road that leads from Santa Rosa to Tagaytay to Nasugbu, the sides of the roads were strewn - nay - abound with trash in all forms. Plastic or organic; burnt or wet; loosely spread or tightly packed in plastic bags emblazoned with every possible fast-food logo one could think of. It was absolutely incredible. I cant' believe government officials nor residents haven't noticed how bad it's become yet. And don't any of you start blaming the tourists nor try to say that this is a new problem. The litterbugging also occurs on weekdays (low tourist days). It also happens on the roads leading to the City of Lipa and Batangas Port (essentially non-tourist destinations) and I've seen it get progressively filthier these past months. Even the sidestreets that lead up to the lovely Pontefino Hotel are hideously littered. It's so obvious that the local government - and it's constituents - have no sustainable plan when it comes to waste management and don't care whether or not they do either. And I know that being a litterbug is not an inherently Filipino thing. Puerto Princesa City is spotless, and Visayan roadsides are way better managed than yours. Even dirty smelly ol' Manila still bothers to sweep it's streets once a day.
So get with the program soon, guys, or run the risk of losing your highly lucrative tourism industry.

And before any Cavitenos and people from Laguna start getting smug. Your roads are a dump too.