People give the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) a lot of flak for their ever changing rules and a lot of useless projects. I prefer to think differently. I see that the way the political system is structured here encourages doing nothing and not really solving anything. Whenever one tries to solve anything a powerful group or sector usually benefits from stopping you and the net effect is nothing is done. That is what sets Bayani Fernando apart from alot of the politicians who has handled any line department for the government.
What sets him apart?
- Willingness to experiment: A lot of what bf (Bayani Fernando, bf starting now) does best is that he thinks like the engineer he was educated to be, and the experimentalist sensibilities that he may have naturally been born to. You can see this with the different schemes that he has concocted. From the throwing of dirty cloth to buses who open their doors at areas not designated as loading and unloading areas, to
- Use of Metrics: When I was still a college student I walked a lot and thus overpasses were my friend. During one of my crossing an overpass I happened upon people with counters happily clicking away with each car passing by quezon ave infront of the INC Central Temple. From sheer coincidence I was able to go at different overpasses in the metro, Philcoa, and a few more streets like the intersection of quezon ave and edsa. I was able to observe all these people from morning upto around 8 at night. This happened from monday to wednesday and at wednesday I was so curious that I asked them what they were doing, It seems they were tracking the number of cars passing by. Correct me if I am wrong but BF was probably the first MMDA chairman to do this. Simply put without the proper metrics , success and failure is just a frame of mind.
- Wise use of resources. The MMDA used convicts to do demolition of informal settlers. This helped in clearing up alot of informal settlers in many areas. (I wish I knew where to get data so we can compare the number of clearing operations at post pre and BF days). Although I do not completely agree with clearing informal settlers en mass.
- Pro Technology: MMDA was almost able to implement an IT enabled system that allowed traffic violations to be caught on camera and billed directly to the operator/car owner. I also see multiple Bayani Fernando google ads. This shows a surprisingly good grasp , if not at least a non technology averse personality.
This post may have been praising BF/MMDA alot but what I am just pointing out is that assuming almost everyone is tainted by corruption at least MMDA/BF has done more than most of the other PGMA appointees.
The challenges that the future hold are simply baffling. To be shackled or not be open to new ways of doing things, or at least to good ways of doing things is a sure recipe for failure. The people who came before us had many failures, but that does not mean we must fear failure, rather we must learn to learn from everything. Learn from mistakes. Learn from success. Let us embrace experimentation. Only through this can I win my bet the the Philippines would be A-OK in 20 years (3 years has already passed so its actually 17).
Bjorn Harsman and John Quigley describe Stockholm’s adoption of congestion pricing in a recent paper. Before holding a referendum on congestion pricing in 2006, the city conducted a trial. For seven months, drivers paid congestion charges upon entering Stockholm’s center. Officials also increased citywide bus service to demonstrate the benefits of the charge to non-drivers. In pretrial polls, the majority of residents opposed the charge. After the trial ended, 52 percent of residents voted in favor of permanent congestion pricing. Firsthand experience with the benefits of the scheme appears to have tipped the scales.
via Charter Cities: Meta-Rules: The Success of Congestion Pricing in Stockholm.