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In an Aug 17 interview with TV Patrol about how bad traffic could get in Metro Manila, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya quipped, “Hindi naman siguro fatal ‘yan (It’s not fatal).”
“Abaya then clarified that what he meant was that traffic was ‘not burdensome to the daily lives of the people,'” reports Delon Porcalla in The Philippine Star.
In other words, Abaya is telling commuters and motorists to just accept their fate. This despite a study that says the country loses as much as PHP2.4 billion pesos (USD$57 million) a day in potential income due to the horrible traffic.
READ: Manila’s traffic jams cost USD$57 million a day
The report noted: “For his part, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda appealed for patience and assured the public the government is seriously addressing the matter.”
“The traffic situation is an issue that we continue to address. There have been a number of ongoing infrastructure projects and all of us are affected by it and we have asked the public for their understanding and patience,” Lacierda said.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is deploying more traffic enforcers to critical areas.
Photo: Gov.ph
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