"Unbelievable!"
"Unbelievable!"
The impetus for what I hoped to be a road trip adventure was a rare family reunion with my father’s side of the family in Camarines Sur. While planning the trip, memories of a horrendous 17-hour Holy Week trip from Manila to Naga City a few years ago gave me the idea to book an overnight stop-over in a decent place somewhere half way. Thanks to a little online research I was able to book an overnight stay in a fairly decent resort in Pagbilao.
We left our home Wednesday morning and was delayed in the usual EDSA traffic and some moderate volume in SLEX. Five and half hours later, thanks to the guidance of my navigation app, we arrived at our destination, though two hours delayed, just in time for lunch. The place had a nice Mexican theme, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were no holiday crowds to spoil the mood. Overall the beach, pool, facilities, and food were not that great but good enough for a little family bonding and rest.
When we checked out at 8 am the resort staff warned us of heavy traffic along the highway going to Bicol. Ok, as expected, its Holy Thursday and the rush to the provinces is at its peak. Sure enough, as we hit the main highway, we slipped into bumper to bumper traffic moving at EDSA-pace during rush hour.
Thinking that there may be some accidents or busy intersections causing the slow down, this should just be an hour or so delay just like my daily drive from Makati to Ortigas Center. An hour went by then two, and we only travelled 3 kilometers! The opposite lane had no vehicles passing, a very bad sign. Motorcycle groups tried weaving their way through the jam, as they usually do, but because of idiotic drivers forcing a counterflow, everything was at a standstill for at least an hour, and we hadn’t even left Pagbilao.
When we finally reached the zigzag road, the traffic eased a bit. The forest scenes of Quezon National Park were refreshing but this would only be a short break from what would be the worst highway traffic jams I have ever lived through, and in my more than 40 years of driving history, I’ve gone through some of the worst.
Traffic aides were too few and were helpless. They were totally unprepared. This happens every year and should have been anticipated by the local governments of Quezon, most especially Pagbilao and Atimonan. The carmageddon in this short stretch became a punishing six-hour crawl! Unbelievable! A chaos due to heavy volume, stupid drivers, and poor traffic management.
We arrived at our Naga city destination at around 9pm, 13 hours more than what should only have been a five-hour drive from Pagbilao. Some relatives who took the bus had to endure 23 hours from Manila to Naga City. Totally unacceptable!
The next day, Good Friday, we pushed on to Albay to fetch my parents and go on a scenic drive to the Mayon Skyline and the coastal route via Tabaco—Tiwi on the way back to Naga. Despite landslides from recent typhoons, the roads were in very good condition and the views were breathtaking. I highly recommend this route but travel in daylight.
Easter morning, we left Naga City for the long drive back to Manila. Traffic was generally light except for the usual slowdown in Gumaca, Quezon. At a normal pace we made it back home in 10 hours.
There are many learnings when one travels and this one had many:
Local governments must enforce Memorandum Circular 2007-01 prohibiting tricycle and pedicab operations along national highways. They are a serious traffic hazard endangering the lives of road users.
Local governments must anticipate the heavy volume of traffic during long holidays and plan traffic enforcement operations to manage traffic flow.
Drivers of all types of vehicles, two-wheel, three-wheel, four-wheel or more must always follow traffic regulations and observe road courtesy. But how many of licensed drivers actually know these regulations?
The behavior of half of the drivers in the Pagbilao-Atimonan carmageddon shows that half of these drivers should not have been given licenses in the first place. We see this in the daily traffic jams of Metro Manila. There is something terribly wrong with how the LTO issues drivers’ licenses. There should be a congressional review on how drivers are being educated and being given the privilege to drive a motor vehicle.
Our road networks are strategic national assets that will drive economic growth outward to the provinces. The mobility of people and goods affects the velocity of economic development. Building more and better highways is great, but we need to align the behavior of all road users to maximize utility, convenience, and ensure safety.
The government must rebuild our national railway systems as a viable alternative for transporting food, goods and people. A new railway system will create a new ecosystem of industries and a new artery for sustained progress.