#Apectado by traffic: People turn to social media to release anger

LONG WALK Thousands of commuters from Cavite province are forced to walk from Coastal Road to get to their place of work and other destinations. Since Monday, authorities have barred most vehicles from entering Roxas Boulevard, a short distance from the Philippine International Convention Center, venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Were you also “Apectado” by the problems in mass transportation— or the lack of it— on Monday?

While the government busied itself with road security and providing BMWs for heads of state, some Filipinos affected by road closures travelled on foot. Their journey to reach their destinations landed on social media too with #Apectado.

“Lagi na lang! Wala man lang back up plan para sa mga commuters. It’s like the gov’t saying to us ‘lakad and traffic are your inevitable companions for the whole week. So pave the way on your own, people.’ Napakainam talaga. Kakastress. Asar!” said Facebook user Jewely Kaye Barrameda with hashtags ‎APECtado and ‎APECfail. (“This always happens. There’s no back-up plan for commuters. It’s like government is saying to us that ‘walking and traffic are your inevitable companions for the whole week. So pave the way on your own people.’ Very good. So stressful. How annoying!”

Facebook was abuzz with similar sentiments. Most of users using the same hashtags wanted to know why there were not enough public utility vehicles and why were roads closed without considering the commuters.

Twitter too was a catch basin of complaints.

A female user named Lally! even tagged the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for what she called “a lack of proper rerouting directions for the motorists.”

“Napakalaking kalokohan ng pagsasara ng sandamukal na kalsada tapos walang matinong rerouting directions sa mga motorist. @MMDA #APECtado,” sad she said using Twitter handle ‏@ohlallypop

(The closure of many roads is a big foul-up, considering that there are no clear re-routing directions for motorists.)

In Manila, for example, eight lanes of Roxas Boulevard were closed to both pedestrians and motorists starting Monday until November 20. The closure, which was issued only on Sunday, was an effect of the series of attacks in Paris.

Johnny Yu, Manila’s anti disaster chief, said the task force handling Apec securities decided to prevent people from passing through Roxas Boulevard to ensure the safety of world leaders.

In an interview, Yu sympathized with the commuters. He said he also couldn’t understand why the national government implemented the current traffic schemes on Monday, without first suspending classes scheduled for the day.

Yu asked for more patience and understanding. He also advised them to “stay indoors” for the rest of the week.

But if they couldn’t, Facebook user Dreau Lanot has an advice for both male and female commuters: Wear running shoes.

“It’s a good idea for men and women to wear running shoes this week. Ladies, if you’ll go to work in heels, you might wanna bring spare sneakers. No one can tell how much horrors will this week’s rush hour bring and we’ll all likely be forced to revert to the oldest means of transport: feet,” Lanot said.  -Aie Balagtas See, SFM