SCTX Myth

SCTX stands for Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway, a new addition to long high-speed stretch of roads aim at improving trade and commerce in the Philippines. It was primarily built to connect two former US military installations now export processing zones, Subic and Clark. On paper, Subic to Clark section would take 40 minutes and from Clark to Tarlac, only 25 minutes. For the mean time, there are three out seven interchanges that are ready for public use. For a Zambaleño to reach Manila, two interchanges are available, the Dinalupihan-Hermosa Bataan Interchange (1^st interchange from Subic) and the Clark Logistics Interchange (5^th interchange). The Clark Logistics Interchange is the one that connects with NLEX (Northern Luzon Expressway).

Last week, I got the chance to experience the 47 km Subic to Clark Logistics Interchange stretch that would in paper take me to Manila sooner than usual. Like the NLEX, everybody would enjoy the quality of the road especially the dragster community. BMW might place an ad “Another road worthy for a BMW” as they did with NLEX (replace “another” with “a”) when it opened years ago. Some would probably say it’s like driving interstate roads in the US but the way it had punched through hills, reminds me of inter-city roads of South Korea. There are some portions whose surface is noticeably rough, probably just 1% of the whole stretch.

Going to Manila from Zambales according to a friend who’s on the wheel, using the SCTX is a wise choice but he said if one would decide to use the Clark Logistics exit, it is more costly! Since it’s going to be my first time on the expressway, I get to decide which route to take (har har har!). After five minutes of driving, doing 80 to 90 kilometers per hour, I can’t sense vibration brought by the road the same thing I noticed when I first tried NLEX. It’s a lot better than traveling through the usual route using the Dinalupihan-Bataan and Sta. Cruz-Pampanga route. What amazed me most was the view from both sides of the road. One gets to enjoy the mountain ranges and plains of Central Luzon that are surprisingly green, maybe due to the early rainy season. Years of heavy logging (illegal) had made its mark though… similar to the mountain ranges of Zambales. For the next 10 minutes, it was starting to get a bit boring… Then I remember what a friend said to me regarding long stretches of road, one could use his/her knee to do the steering. But my friend wasn’t that adventurous to even try.

So we plied the long road for 43 minutes with the average speed of 90 kph and exited using the Clark Logistics Interchange costing us about 112 pesos (class 1 vehicle). That’s 2.38 pesos per kilometer. We were off to NLEX and it took us 9 kilometers (I’m a little bit not sure on the 9 km) to reach the Dau Toll Gate then exited in Balintawak. And since we came from Dau, we paid a toll of 180 pesos. Total distance traveled before reaching NLEX is therefore 47 plus 9 km, 56 km. Total toll fees from SCTX and NLEX, 112 plus 180 pesos, 292 pesos.

To compare the toll fees and the distance traveled, we decided to use my friend’s “economical route.” We used the NLEX San Fernando Toll Gate for our return trip then used the Dinalupihan-Bataan Interchange of SCTX. This time we just paid 130 pesos for NLEX and 24 pesos for SCTX which amounted to 154 pesos. The 138-peso difference for us using a diesel powered vehicle translates to extra 3 liters of fuel using the 45 peso to a liter rate for diesel. In terms of distance, this time we only traveled 45 km as opposed to the 56 km using the whole stretch of SCTX. Average speed however was down to 65 to 80 kph and there are usual stop and go’s due to the usual traffic.

After using the two routes, I finally realized my friend’s argument. The SCTX is no doubt the choice of road if a person would be coming from Zambales and Clark or Tarlac is his/her destination. But considering the price of fuel and toll fees nowadays, going to and from Manila using the Dinalupihan Bataan Interchange is the more economical way. That is considering the following assumptions:

 Since I don’t have a digital gauge to measure actual mileage, I just assumed that the fuel used in traveling the Subic to Clark stretch averaging above 80 kph is basically the same using the usual route plus the Dinalupihan Bataan Interchange of SCTX with it’s usual traffic.

 In terms of tire wear, the SCTX would present a bit of advantage. But if one would be driving fast say above 100 kph, I think it is the same as taking the not so smooth roads of Pampanga traveling below 80 kph and of course… the way a person drives.

A word of caution though, during the rainy season, portions of Dinalupihan-Bataan is prone to flooding.

The SCTX is one (or the “only”) of the good news that is hard to come by in our country nowadays and I believe first timers would really try the whole 47 km of SCTX as we did. Travel to and from Manila may further improve once the other interchanges are complete.

Photos of SCTX… click here!

Downloading movies from the Internet

Residing on a small town that was able to produce a President of the Republic of the Philippines, watching movies on the big screen is no longer a practice.  There used to be two movie houses in the 80’s and 90’s, one in our town and the other on the neighboring town.  Movie houses in the countryside usually have this double feature format that means you get to watch two movies for a fee.  One Filipino movie usually of the action or comedy genre and one foreign film with a Chinese martial arts theme (notably the Kung-Fu Kids series) or an American B-movie are what usually shown.  With no air conditioning, air circulation inside is done by two large industrial fans and anyone you came across after watching knows where you’ve been by the way you stink… courtesy of the fascist smoking movie goers.  The other movie house, the one on another town, is modern at that time for it can play movies by using the Betamax and VHS formats and also because you won’t smell funky after watching.  Since it can play movies out of cassettes, they had a much wider selection of movies but catered to a select audience that might have a hand in ballooning our countries population to 80 billion.

A lot has changed since the 80’s and 90’s. The movie houses have closed prompting people to look for other sources of entertainment fix.  Cheap DVD players have popped up courtesy of merchants down south with a price tag a tenth of the branded ones which for the good of everybody prompted OEMs to lower their prices. Usually not at par with branded ones when it comes to durability, one can practically watch a movie all over again and depending on how many times you’ve played it, the cost incurred (discounting electricity) in buying one disc is negligible.  Piracy has taken a new form and definition and with the help of advancements in technology has found its double-edged ally.

The Philippines is a hotbed of pirated materials, name it… I’m sure we have it.  From audio, software, movies etc. For a couple of years, we were stricken off from the US watch list but unfortunately, were back this year singling out the notorious Quiapo area.

How do you solve a problem like piracy?  There are raids as seen on the evening news but mostly in the Manila area.  But even with the raids, I bet one can still purchase pirated materials in Manila… even in malls.  Pirated materials have widened its reach ironically because of the raids in the cities.  When things gets hot, pirates move to provinces where the arm of the law is not for upholding the law but for receiving cash in exchange for protection.  Sometimes I suspect that they simply don’t care and worst, they insist it’s not their jurisdiction, as the Optical Media Board (OMB) must handle the raids.

The local art scene is aching from piracy.  A Filipino music artist can only dream of a platinum album award and are now limited to gold album awards.  Similarly, a Filipino movie perceived to be less than a blockbuster turns out to be a flop.  The difference, compared with American artists, is that even if there’s such a thing as piracy, their artists’ still ends up millionaires (in US$).  The only screwed party is the producer who by the way still makes millions.

There were reports that pirated materials are money-making machineries of terrorist organizations.  The only way to not contribute to such organizations is to buy the original material.  But if you don’t have the money and as there is always another way, downloading movies (started with MP3’s and now even software downloads are available) using the Torrent technology from the Internet is the way to go.  But downloading movies via the Internet without shaving a few bucks is still a form of piracy on a legal standpoint.  It may take away the guilt feeling of aiding terrorists with their dastardly acts but somehow one is indirectly aiding their cause and movie executives are not happy with it.

So comes the question… Who started piracy in the first place?  According to an article published by Wired Magazine (Issue of March 2004), it’s the people who built Hollywood.  In order to avoid paying Thomas Alva Edison for royalties from using his motion picture technology, they moved to the west coast and the rest is history.

Bad karma? As Austin Powers would say… Maybe.

As for me, a movie aficionado by the age of 6, I only get to watch movies on the big screen whenever I go to Manila.  On a recent trip, I enjoyed watching Iron Man in full THX glory (190 pesos at Greenbelt – 4.5 US$).  I enjoyed it so much that I might…  armed with the cheapest and slowest broadband connection… download it from the net as soon as it’s available.