Thoughts on‘Road trip 2019’

A couple of readers sent their thoughts on our “Road Trip – 2019” and with their permission, I am reprinting parts of their emails.

Dante Vender wrote: I was hoping you went as far as the port of Matnog in Sorsogon.

The port area is clean, safe and orderly. However, the ticketing area which is outside the port vicinity is really bad. It is beside the public market, garbage is everywhere and it stinks. There is no consideration for the passengers’ well being. When the line is long, you are exposed to the elements. The parking area is dirty and dusty or muddy depending on the weather. Did I mention the paid toilet? You better take a long breath and hold it until you’re done. At the back of the sea wall at the end of the parking lot is a floating island of garbage.

That ticketing office is our entrance to the Visayas and Mindanao. What a mess.

We are planning another road trip this summer all the way to Saranggani via Matnog ang Liloan Leyte. Hopefully it will be a different story then.

Our second reader whose name is omitted shared this: Dear Mr. Beltran,

I like your column in today’s (Dec. 27), Road trip discoveries. I am sure future visitors to the south would benefit if authorities take heed of your suggestions.

I live in Baguio and often travel to Singapore. Presently I use Manila Airport. Going to Manila Airport is quite smooth as there is a express bus service, Genesis Joy Bus leaving Baguio at 10 p.m. and arriving NAIA Terminal 3 in about five hours. I hope this type of provincial service will not be “killed” by the proposed ban of provincial buses along EDSA.

On the return, it takes longer from NAIA to Baguio because I have to take a taxi from airport to bus terminus in Pasay. The bus ride would be along EDSA and traffic is usually heavy.

I wish I could use Clark Airport. Why am I not using Clark Airport? It is because surface transport to Baguio is very inconvenient and quite expensive. I have to take a taxi from the airport to Dau/Mabalacat bus terminal. The taxi fare is at least P600, more than a single bus fare from Pasay to Baguio.

Then there is no certainty you can get a seat in the bus to Baguio. The frequency of buses from there to Baguio is not published.

Many years ago I had used Clark because there was a single bus service from the airport to Baguio. I would take a flight to arrive in Clark at least about two hours before the bus is scheduled to arrive there. Why could such bus services not be resumed? I am sure there are many passengers bound for Baguio or the north Luzon who will gladly use Clark Airport if on surface transport was more convenient.

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We hope that the operators of the Clark International Airport and Secretary Art Tugade can sit down with the parties concerned and address the problems shared by our readers. The PPA officials should also visit their facilities to address the lack of comfortable seats or waiting areas for PWDs and senior citizens as well as conducting clean up drives in all PPA ports and facilities.

Meanwhile back in Boracay, we finally caught a glimpse of clean up crews and one mini dump truck valiantly trying to reduce the growing piles of commercial garbage as well as storm damage trash all over Boracay. There is once again a raging debate over which is a better mode of transport on the island: traditional tricycles or E-trikes (battery operated tricycles) because the recent typhoon rendered most E-trikes powerless without electricity. But the gasoline tricycles did not fare much better after a much needed tanker of fuel was reportedly ”delayed” in securing a clearance from someone at the town hall. An interesting bit of information we heard was that the E-trikes which is supposedly very expensive and being sold to drivers wanting the E-trike. From what I heard from DOE-DILG sources those bikes were suppose to be free. Did I hear wrong or is some local official doing wrong?

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