The State of Transportation

System in
Lipa City, Batangas

Submitted by:
Alcantara, Juan Carlos G.
BSTM 302-A

Submitted to:
Ms. Stephanie Kate M. Audije

Lipa City, Batangas Background

 According to a 2019 census, City of Lipa is a first-class city in the province of Batangas and is a
rapidly growing key city in the country, with the
potential to develop into a major administrative,
medical, commercial, financial, agro-industrial, and
residential hub. This city is about an hour and a half
south of Manila. It covers a total land area of
20,940 hectares and is bounded on the northeast by
Sto. Tomas, on the east by San Pablo City and the
municipality of San Antonio Quezon, on the
southwest by Padre Garcia and Rosario, and on the
northwest by Balete and Malvar.

Its original town center was located in what is

now Mataas na kahoy, on the Taal Lake slopes.
https://lessandra.com.ph/blog/2021/08/25/ The old town center (Lumang Lipa) was destroyed
lipa-city-batangas in 1755 by the Taal Volcano eruption, and only a
small portion of it survives today. After 1755, the
town center was relocated to the current downtown area. In 1887, the new Lipa was elevated to the status of
a city by royal decree.

This location was formerly known as the world's capital of coffee. Additionally, it is home to a large
number of Catholic churches, convents, seminaries, Catholic elementary schools, and retreat houses. These
include the Casa de Segunda Katigbak, the San Sebastian Cathedral, the Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Parish,
and the Marian Orchard, which has developed into a popular local attraction in the Lipa area. Furthermore,
this city is known for its breathtaking scenery, which includes Milea Bee Farm, Mount Malepunyo, Mount
Maculot Rockies, Mount Macolod, and Mount Manabu.

Current State of Transportation System in Lipa City, Batangas

People can use public transit to get around and access jobs, community resources, medical care,
and recreational possibilities in places all around the country. The city of Lipa was formerly recognized
as the world's coffee capital. It is now referred to as the "Little Rome of the Philippines," as it is home
to a number of Catholic churches, convents, seminaries, Catholic schools, and retreat houses. Jeepneys
and tricycles, or three wheeled cabs, provide public transportation to and from the school and various
sites within Lipa's city limits. Moreover, commuters to neighboring cities and municipalities have the
option of taking buses which ply the Manila-Batangas City and Manila Lemery routes. The city’s
Grand Terminal is located at SM City Lipa. The main reason of putting up a Grand Terminal is due to
increase in population, increase on the number of vehicles and previous location of the terminal that
causes overcrowding. There is a need for the advancement on the transport industry in Batangas City.
The effects of the Grand Terminal brought a great opportunity for the transportation business as the
passenger increase in tourist arrival in Batangas City. There is a need for an effective management,
facilities, and services to further improve the operation of the Grand Terminal for the benefit of
Batangas City, its people, and visitors.
 On March 6, 2023 commuters are affected by the current protest of public transport drivers by a
weeklong transport strike against the impending jeepney and UV Express phaseout. "PARA -
Advocates for Inclusive Transport (PARA-AIT), an alliance of public transport commuters announced
its support for the planned week-long transport strike against the public utility vehicle (PUV) phaseout
starting March 6, adding their voice to the growing condemnation of the national government’s import-
dependent, debt-trap PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP)," said PARA-AIT, Friday. Also,
according to some residents’ transportation in the city never stops there are still jeepneys that are out
for transportation but these jeepneys are considered as colorum or jeepneys without franchise.

Usefulness and Effects of the Transportation in the Philippine Tourism

Since tourism involves the movement of people from their places of residence to the places of tourist
attractions, every tourist must travel to reach the places of interest. Transport is, thus, one of the major components
of the tourism industry and here are the examples of the usefulness of transportation and its effect in Philippine
tourism.

• It helps the tour become more convenient – to attract customers as well as take them around an attraction,
destination. Developers have used many forms of transport to move people around, when tourists arrive at the
destination they tend to rely on public or private transportation to make their way around the city.
• It enhances the visitor experience – most of the travelers who came from foreign countries that travels here in the
Philippines are amazed with our means of transportation especially with our own jeepneys, tricycle, and kalesa and
for them riding in these kinds of vehicles are great experiences.
• It creates bad publicity – Philippines is being known for having worse travelling experience due to traffic issues,
limited transportation and increasing fare expenses due to oil price hike.

References

Lipa, Province of Batangas. PhilAtlas. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from

https://www.philatlas.com/luzon/r04a/batangas/lipa.html

Batangas History, Culture and Folklore. (2021, July 16). Lipa City, Batangas: Historical data. Batangas
History, Culture and Folklore. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from
https://www.batangashistory.date/2019/10/lipa-city-batangas-historical-data.html

Lipa City. Philippines Cities. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://philippinescities.com/lipa-city/

Bautista, A. J. P., Carandang, E. K. J. A., Cornejo, J. P., Cubero, M. B., & Sauz, C. K. (n.d.). Impact
of SM Lipa Grand Terminal to the Travel Industry of Lipa City. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from
https://research.lpubatangas.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/JTHR-SM-Lipa-Grand-Terminal.pdf

Relativo, J. (2023, March 3). Commuter Group stands with March 6 transport strike vs Puv Phaseout.
Philstar.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/03/03/2249028/commuter-group-stands-march-6-transport-
strike-vs-puv-phaseout

The Controversial Manila Bay Beach Nourishment Project

As a citizen who may be impacted by the government's decision on the "Manila Bay Beach
Nourishment Project," I support them for one reason: to rehabilitate Manila Bay. In addition, for a variety
of reasons, I disagree with them. As a result, I do not believe that dolomite will or can help individuals'
mental health while also keeping Manila Bay clean. And, as stated in the case, many people desired to
have their photographs taken at Manila Bay. This occurred in the midst of the pandemic and quarantine
when people were required to adhere to a slew of restrictions.

Furthermore, how can the government be certain that the "dolomite" will help to prevent further
damage to Manila Bay? Assume that once the restrictions and travel ban are lifted, the "man-made white
beach sand in the middle of the city" can and will be a tourist destination in the Philippines. It will aid in
the growth of our tourism industry. But how can they guarantee that Manila Bay Beach will still be clean
when all of the tourists visit? Due to a large number of visitors, they are unable to prevent those people
from causing further damage to Manila Bay by throwing or leaving their garbage there. Also, because
there are few stores or establishments in the region, there may be an instance where individuals simply
leave their trash on the beach, like happened on Boracay.
 Proposal/Recommendation

If I am a member of the DENR and one of those who can propose the rehabilitation of Manila
Bay. I propose that we focus on restoring Manila Bay to its previous beauty without using artificial white
sand, which can harm people's health and marine species. The Manila Bay is already gorgeous; all it
required was to be cleaned. People used to swim in Manila Bay, according to my mother, when the bay
was clean. The Manila Bay can still be a "beach" without the "dolomites." In addition, as members of the
DENR, we are responsible for ensuring and caring for nature. However, why did the DENR authorize the
use of dolomite? Dolomite was mined in Cebu, and it harmed the mountains and our mother nature. That
is why I will recommend and do my best to persuade them that dumping dolomite into Manila Bay will
not be beneficial. It may work at initially, but they/we cannot guarantee that it will not exacerbate the
harm to Manila Bay. However, if we simply focus on maintaining Manila Bay clean as it is, we did not
squander a lot of money and we did not injure anyone, notably the people, marine creatures, and nature. A
natural- made tourist attraction will help to boost both domestic and international tourism. Most people
prefer natural beauty-made attractions over man-made attractions because they provide a different feeling.
Furthermore, a natural attraction can and will last longer than a man-made attraction. What, moreover,
makes a location beautiful? It's nostalgia. The memories of how it was built, the history of the location,
and the good times shared there.

Manila Bay Beach

Nourishment Project

A Case Study by:

 Alcantara, Juan Carlos G.
BSTM 302 – A

Submitted to:
Ms. Stephanie Kate M. Audije