UK vs. Philippines
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The Philippines are almost a corner of Europe in the middle of the Pacific. Once colonised by the Spanish, the country today is independent but bears all the hallmarks of its colonial past, retaining the Catholic faith and the Spanish language. The place today is a bizarre mix of ancient and modern, Western and Oriental. David Smith compiled this article during a trip between December 2005 and January 2006. It focusses on the roads in North Luzon, the largest island.
Philippine roads vary greatly in quality and construction, are often crowded and worn out, and drainage is poor, especially during the rainy season. Vehicles are frequently overloaded and people hang off the sides and back, especially from Jeepneys (sort of private buses made from converted ex-US army jeeps).
Some people still ride animals. Here is a whole family on a Caribao (water buffalo).
There are - believe it or not - currently two motorways (Expressways) leading out of the Capital, Manila, with a third Expressway currently under construction.
There are numbers for each exit from an Expressway, but no road numbers. The major roads just have names such as North Luzon Tollway, South Luzon Expressway and Macarthur Highway.
Philippine motorway restrictions are unusual. They state:
Expressway
Traffic Discipline zone
No 2 or 3-wheeled vehicles
No Dilapidated vehicles
No smoke belchers
The ban on 2 or 3-wheeled vehicles is because motorbikes with a sidecar are commonly used as taxis in many parts of the Philippines. These are known as tricycles. However, tricycles are often only 125cc and can carry up to 8 people at a time! Understandably, they can be rather slow!
Vehicles in the Philippines can often be in a poor condition. Broken or dim tail lights are common. I have seen trucks with 5 tyres so worn they are down to the steel, even below the canvas, and because it is very rare to service vehicles there, they can often be very polluting and belch clouds of black smoke.
North Luzon Tollway
The longest and most complete Expressway is the North Luzon Tollway, running roughly north-west from Manila to the province of Pampanga. It is about 90km long, and at its southern end the road is dual four-lane for around 25 km. It then drops to three lanes for 5km before becoming dual two-lane for the final 60km.
The highway was originally built in the 1960s or 1970s and was in a poor condition. It was two lanes wide, poorly surfaced, had very short exit slips (none at all for service areas) and the road suddenly dropped after bridges with a 45km/h speed limit. At its most northerly junction near Dau it even stopped at a set of traffic lights. However, at a cost of billions of Pesos, the road was recently upgraded and widened around 2003-4 to its present state.
The highway is now fully grade separated with overbridges and long exit and entrance slips.
At its ends in Mabalacat and Manila it has toll booths. In 2002, before reconstruction, the toll to drive the whole length was 20 Pesos (about 22p), but since then it has risen to 210 pesos (£2.36). Understandably, food and goods have risen in price considerably since then.
This is another view of the tollbooth. Note the motorway 'chopsticks' sign, similar to our own. However, in the Philippines, the term 'TDZ' or 'Traffic Discipline Zone' is used. In more detailed signs the instruction to keep right after overtaking is prominently displayed as Filipinos aren't very good at lane discipline. I have seen the hard shoulder used as an overtaking lane.
Much American terminology is used in the Philippines. The service areas are known as 'Tollway plazas'. These have all the facilities one would expect: petrol, restaurant, toilets (usually with an attendant expecting a tip!), shops, and in one I even saw a small Catholic church. The Philippines is the only predominantly Christian country in Asia.
Towards the end of the North Luzon Tollway, near the town of Mabalacat, the northbound carriageway has yet to be completed. For the last 3-4km the traffic is diverted onto the completed southbound carriageway. Even though the road is only single two-lane, it is still classed as an Expressway. At its end, traffic takes a sharp turn left and has to travel through the town of Mabalacat.
Subic Bay Expressway
A new expressway is currently under construction which will link the former US Airbase at Subic Bay, a special development area, with Clark airbase, the site of a new airport and the army town of Tarlac. This should link to the North Luzon Tollway in the near future.
Only a small section of the Subic Bay Expressway has been completed, and this 4-5km long section is like the end of the North Luzon Tollway where only one carriageway has currently been completed.
Note the yellow strip dividing the carriageways. This is similar to US practice - hardly surprising, as Subic Bay was a US enclave until 1992, and most senior Philippine politicians were educated in the US.
At the end of the highway, the main road to the busy town of Olongapo branches out. This is four lanes wide but not divided.
Other roads in the Philippines
I have unfortunately not visited any of the other islands in the archipelago, but have been informed that outside Luzon there is only one other dual carriageway, a 3km bridge linking Leyte and Samar, two other large islands. The lack of dual carriageways leads to wild overtaking, especially by bus and Jeep drivers, some of whom seem to almost skim traffic travelling in the opposite direction!
Another problem with development of the road network in the Philippines is corruption. Near my wife's home town in the town of Calasiao in Pangasinan province is a set of traffic lights that has not been switched on in at least 5 years. When I enquired as to why, I was told the Municipality (Council) had not paid the electricity company for the power used by the traffic lights because the mayor had used the money for his re-election campaign!
Another time, at a very busy traffic light controlled triple-carriageway in Manila, the traffic was at a standstill. The taxi driver informed me that a flyover was to have been built at a busy junction but the local Mayor had taken all the money!
Mike Ratcliffe adds that the San Juanico bridge linking Leyte and Samar is not dual carriageway either - so that's even more opportunity for questionable overtaking maneouvres!
