This photo shows Muntinlupa City Mayor Ruffy Biazon’s vehicle stuck in traffic along SLEX on Thursday. (Photo from Biazon)
MANILA, Philippines — Commuters on Thursday fumed after they found themselves trapped in the gridlocked traffic along South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), pinning the blame on torrential rain and flood in the area.
As of 10:27 a.m., SLEX’s official Twitter account reported heavy and tail-end traffic on the northbound expressway’s Alabang Viaduct. All other places have light traffic.
SLEX Traffic Update as of 10:27 AM:
NB:
– Alabang viaduct: Heavy, tail end at approx. 16km.– All Other areas Light Traffic
— SLEX – MaTES (@OfficialSLEX) July 13, 2023
Twitter users grumble about the inconvenience, making SLEX and Bicutan trending in the Philippines early Thursday morning.
Among those who swarmed Twitter to sound the alarm about the situation is Muntinlupa City’s Mayor Ruffy Biazon, who cautioned motorists about the floods in the Bicutan area.
To those going to/ from the South, be advised SLEX is flooded at Bicutan area.When I entered northbound at Filinvest Alabang, I was met by this stand still,bumper to bumper situation. An FB friend posted he left QC at 4:00am & at 6:00am he was also in same situation in Magallanes pic.twitter.com/1dcblgHcPb
— Ruffy Biazon (@ruffybiazon) July 12, 2023
“To those going to [and] from the South, be advised [that] SLEX is flooded [in the] Bicutan area. When I entered northbound at FilInvest Alabang, I was met by this standstill, bumper-to-bumper situation. A [Facebook] friend posted [that] he left Quezon City at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. he was also in the same situation in Magallanes,” tweeted Biazon.
Multiple users said their travel time took hours. This prompted another internet surfer – @KimYoj1 – to urge the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation to “do something to improve” the roads along the expressway as this trouble affects people’s lives.
At 2AM sino kasama ko sa SLEX? Grabe ang #traffic dito sa Pinas. Been in the road for almost 6 hours now. #DPWH #DOTR please do something to improve this kind of mess. This certainly affects people lives. #worsttraffic pic.twitter.com/P80mnoznl9
— Kim •blackout• (@KimYoj1) July 12, 2023
Meanwhile, another tweeter — @jclem3 – , due to the flooding that the downpour caused, called the expressway “water world.”
SLEX aka Waterworld. pic.twitter.com/Z9IVBHi86A
— Jojo Clemente (@jclem3) July 12, 2023