Dead-end

The improbable formula worked out by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan is basically dead in the water.

The formula — endorsed by both Russia and China — called for an immediate ceasefire among the contending forces in Syria. That ceasefire would enable humanitarian assistance to flow into the most devastated cities and a monitoring mechanism installed by the UN. Its most urgent goal is to end the horrendous killings happening on a daily basis as the forces of the Assad regime assault rebellious cities with aerial bombing and artillery barrages.

China and Russia, months before, vetoed a UN resolution which might have opened the door to more forceful action by the international body to stop the genocide inflicted by the Assad regime on its own people. The veto prevented the UN from taking any meaningful action in the face of daily atrocities happening for over a year now.

The Arab League, earlier volunteered to send in an observer mission. The Arab observers were harassed or generally ignored. An angry Arab League decided to pull out the mission.

That left those hoping for an end to the violence only the Annan formula to cling to. The proposed ceasefire, confirmed by Damascus, was supposed to have taken effect last week. On the appointed date, in the days following, Assad forces continued their bombardment of rebellious cities. The killing went on as usual.

After urgent meetings held last week, the UN decided to send in an unarmed observer mission. The first units of that observer mission arrived in the devastated city of Homs a few days ago.

Like the ill-fated Arab League mission months ago, the UN observer mission was generally ignored. Bombardment of civilians continued in plain sight. The killings have not abated.

There is some debate over whether the persistence of the murderous Assad regime is preferable to the certain anarchy that would ensue if it dissipates. Underneath the oppressive order imposed by the Assad dynasty is a crazy quilt of sectarian and ethnic divisions in Syria.

Most of the world would rather see a democratic (albeit uncertain) transition to happen in this cursed country. Both the UN and the Arab League, however, appear to have exhausted all their options in the case of Syria. With Russia and China blocking the path to a more substantial international intervention to prevent Assad’s murderous rampage, all humanitarian efforts have now reached a dead-end.

In Syria, the institutional capacity of the UN, as the international organization of last resort for timely intervention in the face of humanitarian tragedies, is again put into question. This is like Rwanda all over again. As thousands are brutally exterminated by a regime on a rampage, the world can only look on helplessly.

It should not be like this. But the realities of global politics, animated by callous national interests, are harsh.

Ridiculous

The MMDA Chairman did not have to appear ridiculous — but he insisted on inflicting that on himself.

The provocation this time is a CNN report that identifies Metro Manila as the third worst for driving. CNN admits the survey is unscientific — and indeed, there can be no fully scientific way to rank impressions.

The admission did not prevent Francis Tolentino from protesting too loudly. He attacked the CNN listing as “unscientific.”

As if this was not enough, he just went on and on, saying cities like Paris did not have to deal with tricycles or with jeepneys. They did not have to deal with sidewalks lost to stalls — or, for that matter, to streetlamps and barangay offices. Tolentino takes the CNN ranking too personally.

His extremely defensive excuses for the horrible traffic situation in Manila overstretches. Bangkok and Jakarta, for instance, are not in the ten worst cities list even if tuktuks (the mongrel version of our tricycles and jeepneys) rule their streets.

What Bangkok achieved (and we did not) was to install a comprehensive and complementary mass transit system. The transition from light rail to subway to river ferries in Bangkok is seamless.

What Jakarta achieved (and we did not) was dramatically increase road space. While we dilly-dally, our neighbors are moving quickly to replace antiquated public transport with modern mass transit systems. Even Hong Kong, at the cost of billions, is expanding its subway system.

The breakdown of traffic flow in Manila is not the result of want of engineering solutions. It is due to the absence of leadership, political will and the required bureaucratic efficacy to get the solutions in place.

Whatever semblance of modern mass transit we have (the LRT-MRT) breaks down with increasing frequency due to poor maintenance. Tricycles are generally unregulated. Jeepney drivers hold great political clout. Little municipal fiefdoms enforce different regulations within their boundaries.

Lack of coordination between the DPWH and the MMDA is legendary. The DOTC has its own solutions and pursues them with incredible lethargy. Local governments are hesitant to use their funds to increase road space.

The administrative chaos matches the chaos in the streets. The way things stand, driving can only become a more unpleasant experience in Manila over the foreseeable future — with the MMDA’s only innovation being the introduction of those useless motorcycle lanes on basically the same scarce road space.

Instead of quarrelling with CNN, Tolentino should have seized on the opportunity to present our public with a master plan for better traffic management — if such a plan for rationalizing vehicular flow is at all possible.

The wonder of the CNN ranking, for many of us motorists, is that our city did not rank the absolute worst considering everything.