Much has been said about how bad the traffic situation is in Manila. Having first hand experience myself, I can say that it gets pretty frustrating.
Being stuck in traffic is not only a waste of natural resources (think of all the fossil fuels being burned and the air pollution being created) but also a waste of human resources. So many productive workers waste so much time each and every day commuting to and from work. The problem is very real and it will not go away anytime soon. There is a very really and urgent need to come up with a concrete plan of action (short-term, medium-term and long-term) and the backbone and political clout to implement this plan of action properly.
Improving the public transport system, developing car sharing schemes, giving incentives for carpooling are just some possible areas that can be explored. Even just plain proper implementation of all traffic rules and regulations among all drivers will probably help at this point.
We need to take this problem seriously if the Philippines is serious in its desire to increase productivity, attract investors and become the next developed Asian tiger.