On Homeworld MRT Adverts

Dear Homeworld voice actress,

You are probably the most pathetic lady I have ever heard. Who goes window shopping for furniture every fucking day on the same fucking store? I'd understand someone going every week, but every single day? If the store ships stuff every day, and a furniture store for this matter, I'd assume that this store would go broke pretty soon. Clothes I'd understand a little more, but furniture? Oh, come on!

Seriously, find a better hobby.

Sincerely,

Concerned MRT Passenger,
Inggo

P.S.
I am aware you're just reading from a script. I just got very irritated after hearing your advertisement every time the train stops for a station the entire day. Anyway, the writer sucks and makes you sound like a loser.

On Philippine Education

Dear DepEd,

Your education system sucks. That is all.

Sincerely,

Five-year Freshman,
Inggo

On Street Children Parents III

Dear Parents,

I never would've thought I'd need to send you another letter on the same subject, and so soon.

The time was just past seven, Just today, on my way home from school. I was riding a Project 6 jeepney from Trinoma. The jeep halted on a red light before turning left to Mindanao Avenue. A street child, maybe in early puberty, went in the vehicle and began wiping the people's footwear. As he reached the end, he began begging for alms, you know, the usual stuff they do. As he reached the end of the jeep, one of the passengers had his cellphone out, maybe texting someone. He, the passenger, was sitting on the end of the jeep. The child grabbed the phone and ran away.

Sadly, I couldn't do anything myself, since I was seated in front of the jeep. The passenger, flustered at first, got off and chased the child. The entire vehicle was in a commotion. The driver didn't know what to do. A few moments later, the light turned green. The driver at first didn't move, but the traffic behind him started honking their horns.

Who is to blame on this event? The driver, for allowing street children such as the criminal on this case to enter the public utility vehicle? Or the victim, for taking out his cellular phone at the scene of the crime? Me, for not being able to be a hero on this event? The child himself? Syndicates? Poverty? The Government? The law enforcers?

For me, you are to blame, the parents of the child. You can reason out that you are poor, but it's still your fault for having a child and not being able to provide for him, or at least teach him what is right and what is wrong. You can reason out that he might be an orphan, but there must be a parent of this child, and it is still their fault for abandoning him. You might even be dead, but knowing that you are having a child, you should have prepared for such events. You can reason out a lot of things, but in the end, this finger that points who to blame points to you.

Sincerely,

Witness to a Juvenile Crime,
Inggo

On Street Children Parents II

Dear Parents,

Seriously, stop procreating.

Just the other day, while watching someone play DDR in Trinoma, a street child found himself there beside the machine. I honestly don't know how he got there, maybe security found themselves off guard or something. The player was using his bare feet, and he takes of his slippers. In the middle of the song, the kid took the dude's slippers and attempted to run away. Luckily, I managed to grab hold of his tattered shirt and take back the pair of slippers. I let him go. He ran away, most possibly in fear.

Learn to discipline your children if you really have to make more of them. Oh, wait, that's probably what teach your child to do.

Sincerely,

Anti-Slippernapper Gentleman,
Inggo

On MRT/LRT Passenger Decorum

Dear Passengers,

I know it is difficult being a train passenger, especially on rush hours. However, we must still practice proper decorum at every instance we are using this public utility. Note that I used the term public utility. This is not a private vehicle, so we should learn to use it as a public and not as an individual.

Whenever I use these utilities, I find myself stuck in a pushy crowd, disallowing passengers to exit. Also, I find that a lot of space in the center of the train remains unused. It seems that everyone wants to stay near the doors, maybe because they want to alight the train first when their station comes. But I always see that these people stay near the door from end to end (okay, maybe from Taft to Cubao, or North to Ayala).

What I want everyone to realize that most of us using the train wants to go to their destination at the fastest time possible. The time it takes for people getting on and off the train lengthens because of the people staying by the doors and those eager to enter the train, blocking the path of those wanting to get out. Also, at particular stations, people fail to organize themselves in queuing for tickets or for entering and exiting the station. And finally, more delay happens when people force themselves in an already full train, or rushing in during the warning buzzer and failing to beat it causing the doors not to close.

Here are some guidelines we should all follow upon using this service in order to become refined passengers:

1. Upon entering the station, have your baggage opened up for inspection once there are only one or two more people in front of you.
   
2. When purchasing tickets, keep the queue at the direction of the wall. Do not block the way for passengers who already have a ticket. Also, when asking someone else to buy your ticket, do not block the path to the ticket receptacles.
3. Do not step beyond the platform edge. This is marked by the different colored tiles. On MRT and LRT2, it is yellow. And on LRT1, it is red. This serves not only for your safety, but also for space to those who would be alighting the train.
4. When the train comes, do not step towards the platform edge until all people who desire to alight the train have done so.
   
5. Upon entering the train, do not push the people in front of you. At the same time, when in front, do not take time entering the train, and follow guideline number 8 immediately.
6. Do not enter the train when the warning buzzer sounds. The buzzer does not mean "QUICK! RUSH! PUSH! DO IT LIKE YOU'RE PREGNANT! PUUUUSH!" The buzzer actually means: "Warning! The doors are closing. Stop entering the train and kindly wait for the next one."
7. If the train is full to the door, do not push people in. If they follow these guidelines, you should know if there is still space available to you.
   
8. As you enter the train, go to furthest you can to the center. If you come from the left of the door, go left. And if you come from the right, go right. An exception would be if this is the door of the end of the train, in which you go to the direction of the center of the current train. It doesn't matter if your destination is near or far. This is to let other people enter the train smoothly and to maximize space. Position yourself to according your destination once the train is moving at constant speed.
   
9. Do not stay beside the door unless you will be alighting on the next station or the remaining space in the center constrains your position.
10. Whenever there is an available seat, take it. Seats often become available when people queue for getting off the train (see number 13). If you aren't alighting on the next station, take the seat. This is, again, to give more space to the standing passengers.
11. If you are standing, and if you can reach the bars or railings, use them. Do not use the straps unless you cannot reach the bars. This is so that passengers who cannot reach the bars are able to maintain their balance in the train by holding the straps. Also, use only one hand on the railings, and do not use your entire body and embrace the pole as if it was your lover. If you do use the straps, use only one. Or better yet, share a strap, win a friend (remember to wash your hands afterwards).
    
12. Keep your baggage in front of you. Not only does this prevent any theft, but also provides more space.
13. When you are nearing your destination, go towards the door as the train moves in constant speed. Once the station is announced, you should already be in queue for those desiring to alight on the next station. You know you have failed this step if the train slows down causing you to lose your momentum. Some practice for this step is required.
    
14. If you find yourself at the door or at the queue of those wanting to alight, and you're not exiting on the current station, step out of the door and give way to those who will be alighting. After which, enter the train keeping guideline number 8 in mind.
15. When the train doors open, exit the train swiftly and orderly in a single file towards the exit. If people follow these guidelines, there should be enough space for you to proceed towards the nearest exit.
    
16. Upon exiting the station, queue on a line furthest from the train. Also, keep in the queue, and do not cut other queues. An exception would be when a ticket receptacle suddenly closes, where the line furthest from the train should allow those from the closed queue to shuffle in courteously one person at a time.
17. Oh, and if you are disabled, carrying a child, or pregnant, please use the first train. I know you are already handicapped, but the first train should serve this purpose. The rest of the trains are ideally for those who are in the rush hour traffic.
    

Quite honestly, I am ashamed of the fact that our people have a lack of discipline. And I'm starting to lose hope that Filipinos will ever be disciplined. But maybe many of us just don't know how to behave. Hopefully, this will help those who don't know what proper decorum is in a train and its stations.

Following these guidelines will make you a refined train passenger just like me. If everyone follows, we should all have a quicker and more comfortable journey to our destination.

Any additional guidelines are welcome.

Sincerely,

Refined train passenger,
Inggo