MANILA, Philippines — Commuters passing along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) should not expect to have a fast and smooth drive during the Christmas holiday.
This was the claim of newly-appointed Edsa Traffic Manager Bong Nebrija on Sunday as the traffic agency expect that speed of vehicles could only be at 20 kilometers per hour.
“You do not expect that it will be… We will have a 10 kilometer up to 20 kilometer travel during weekdays and especially on Friday,” Nebrija said in a news forum.
According to Nebrija, the slowdown of the movement of vehicles could be attributed to the upcoming Christmas day as well as the weather condition in Metro Manila.
“Marami na pong nag-Christmas rush, Christmas party, and marami po tayong galing sa mga karatig na probinsya natin na dito namamasyal,” he said.
“Umuulan-ulan pa po, so talaga pong makes for a perfect traffic situation,” he added.
Nevertheless, Nebrija said that traffic enforcers would be working during the holiday season to monitor the traffic situation around the metropolis.
Nebrija also noted that last Friday, he implemented a no-day off and no-absent policy in anticipation of the traffic situation for those enforcers assigned in Edsa.
He then said that traffic along Edsa could not be solved by traffic enforcers alone and reiterated his call on motorists to also observe proper road discipline.
“Sa mga nagsasabi na four hours, three hours silang nasa Edsa, sorry for the inconvenience but this is something that we all need to be part of solving the traffic,” he said.
“This is not about enforcement, but self-disciplining. Ibig sabihin, ang pagbabago sa Edsa ay mararamdaman natin kung tayo mismo ay magbabago,” he added. /je