DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The city government’s Banda Dasig and Parada sa Pasko events last Friday were supposed to bring cheers but instead were jeered for stalling traffic for hours.
The city’s main roads were closed that day on December 22 for the event by the City Transport and Traffic Management, including Roxas Avenue, C.M. Recto Street, and San Pedro Street, which are main thoroughfares for private and public vehicles.
Traffic is usually tight in Davao City, which has 800,000 commuters, but Friday’s event saw traffic at a snail’s pace that frustrated Davaoeños who were commuting for work or Christmas activities at this time.
Late for work
John Tan, a call center employee, said he left home at noon to travel for his 2 pm shift at Sobrecarey Street, yet he arrived an hour late because of the heavy traffic.
“Grabe talaga ka tagal ako sa jeep. Tapos kahit nag baba na ako pagmagsakay nga tricycle ayaw na din ng mga driver maghatid kay traffic din kahit yung mga maliliit na streets. Napamahal pa ko kay pakyaw na ang singil nila,” he said.
(It was terrible, being stuck in the jeep. Even when I stepped down and looked for a tricycle, the drivers refused because there was traffic even on alternate routes and streets. I had to pay so much because they asked for a higher fee.)
Even those who drove private vehicles such as Fred were affected. He took the alternate route, the coastal road along the Matina thinking he could get past traffic but instead was stuck in traffic for two hours.
Fred is a private nurse and was on his way to work in Lanang.
“I was late, all my colleagues also arrived late. We can’t blame anyone because of the traffic,” he said in Bisaya.
Mae Fe-Ancheta Templa, the former social welfare undersecretary based in Davao City, posted on her social media account that she almost missed her medical appointment because of the traffic.
“I almost missed my ultrasound schedule. About 3 hours on the turtle-paced trip from Catalunan Grande to Quirino Ave. With a 5-year-old apo asking me, ‘How long does this take us to downtown?’; ‘Where are we now, Momshie?’” Templa posted.
Jeepney drivers, such as Tabs Harbidez, complained that he did not earn much that day as he and other drivers did not cover much ground on their route.
“Unsaon namo pagpasakay og pasahero nga hastang trapika, ang uban man gani nanganaog na lang, wala apektado kaayo among income,” he said.
(How am I supposed to find passengers with this traffic, some of them even stepped out because of this. I don’t have income.)
Harbidez said traffic worsened at noon time that his co-drivers plying the Matina to Bankerohan route quit driving that day.
“Grabe ka taas gyud sa traffic. Ang katong mga kauban nako wala na nibyahe pahuman nilag paniudto pero pareho nako naabtan gyud ko sobra usa ka oras nang gikan Aplaya, naa pa lang mi anang gallera dapit,” he said.
(Traffic got worse. My colleagues stopped driving after lunch. But me, I got stuck for an hour coming from Aplaya to Gallera.)
Parade canceled
The event was hosted by the City Tourism Office and was intended as a Christmas treat for underprivileged children and children with special needs. The event was partnered with the city’s welfare department and the House of Hope.
The Banda Dasig and Parada sa Pasko were set as a competition with participants that came from other provinces.
Even some participating groups were caught late by the traffic, even if they had arrived a day before the event.
“Naa na man mi dire a day before the event pero going dire sa assembly area kay nalate gihapon ang uban sa amoa kay dikasulod ang among jeep, luoy among mga bata sayo pa nang mata,” said a mother of one of the contingents from Digos City.
(We had arrived a day before, but we came late because our jeep could not get through the traffic. I pity the children who woke up early for this.)
Because of the late arrival of the groups, the organizers announced that the parade, which was supposed to start at Roxas Avenue at 3 pm, was canceled. There were already some groups who were already waiting at the venue at that time.
The organizers announced through their social media page that the groups proceed to San Pedro Square for the contest set at 5:30 pm.
Davaoenos vented their grievances on social media on this turn of events, posting comments on the social media accounts of the city government that was doing live coverage of the event.
The City Government of Davao page had to turn off its comment section during the event.
Most of the comments made by netizens criticized the organizers and the city government for failing to consider that the time of the event falls on Friday rush hour and during Christmas when people and balikbayans arrive and usually go out during the holidays.
Some even suggested that such events should be held in bigger venues away from downtown that will avoid causing traffic and can provide a better view for spectators of the events.
Spectators of the event also complained about the setup in San Pedro Square where they had a limited view of the competing groups.
The competition was staged similarly to other events where participants face judges and VIPs in the staging area opposite the spectators.
“Lisod kaayo mutan-aw sa actual kay layo kaayo ang mga tawo sa performers unya daghan kaayo nangharang, dili unta ana kay para man kaha ni sa mga tawo,” said Glenn Ungon who went to San Pedro square with his family.
(We could barely see the actual event because we were far away from the performers and many people were blocking the view. If this was for the public, it shouldn’t have been set up this way.) (davaotoday.com)
Christmas, davao city, traffic
