Here's a quick snapshot of Tanah Merah MRT station in Singapore. What most people I know don't understand would be just how VALUABLE a train line to a country's airport really is.
Where I live, we do not have a train that goes straight to our local and international airport terminals. I live in Quezon City, in the northern section of Metro Manila, in the Philippines' National Capital Region. If I were to take a taxi from my place of residence to our "Terminal 2" (where, if memory serves me correctly, I could catch a Delta Airlines flight to Detroit via Narita, for example) on a weekday afternoon, it might take me 1.5-2 hours to get to my plane stop. To travelers who fancy last minute sojourns to catch flights that WILL NOT wait, this sort of route is a death knell.
In Singapore (and in some other countries I've been to, for that matter), there is a train that goes to the airport. Trains going to other major transport hubs need not be luxurious. They just have to be efficient, clean, and relatively affordable. From what might be the same distance as Quezon City to Pasay City (where Manila's major airport terminals are located), I managed to get to Changi Airport in less than an hour. Yes, you read that right.
It is said that a nation's transport system reflects how progressive it is. I love my country, but honestly, our transportation system leaves much to be desired. The fact that we still have jeepneys that stop on a dime at any point that passengers dictate, and the fact that we still have tricycles (sort of like Bangkok's "Tuktuks") which clog up city streets and are most times the cause of unforeseen road mishaps due to their drivers' insistence to enter major thoroughfares for what may only be described as something akin to the Wacky Races with sweat and gore on asphalt, says that we still have a ways to go before we can say that we are truly "global".
The Department of Tourism is perceived as a government office that is often the proverbial landing strip for politicians at the "end of their rope" in so far as their respective terms as Mayors, Congressmen, and Senators, are concerned. Nepotism is the problem here. The tendency is that the powers-that-be appoint these woebegone politicians to head the DOT to repay personal debts/favors, and not because those whom they appoint are skilled practitioners in the field of Tourism. I know of career officials in government who have the sufficient skills, experience, and morals to be in certain key posts. I feel bad for them. I feel disappointed that they get overlooked in favor of people with just a little more clout and influence than the next guy. It is disgusting that our country's readiness to accommodate tourists is compromised because of greed.
I am not saying that the Philippines is the only fertile breeding ground for corruption. Other places face similar problems. It is just increasingly frustrating that we can't even get a train system going for those who, ironically, want to fly out of the country- and come back. The fact that these people come back, or, "go home", to Manila says that there are people who still love the Philippines.
These people love the Philippines, but maybe, not the goons and debauch agencies that run it.
MC
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