Metro traffic worries Miss Universe hosts

THE SAD truth is that we’ve outgrown Edsa itself.

CONTESTANTS getting stuck in Metro Manila’s roads is a big no-no to the Philippine committee that will host Miss Universe next year.

“The maddening traffic mess is obviously the one single problem that besets our daily economic lives in Metro Manila, and we will find ways not to aggravate this with the hosting of Miss Universe,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in a statement on Monday.

The coronation is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2017, at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Teo urged the hosting committee, which met last week at the Department of Tourism (DOT) office in Makati City, to come up with solutions to the traffic gridlock.

Proposals include holding precoronations segments in tourist destinations outside Metro Manila, such as Cagayan de Oro City where reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach spent her childhood.

Other tourist attractions being considered by the DOT are Palawan, Cebu, Batangas, Davao City, Vigan and Isabela province.

The committee also discussed preparations for the arrival of Miss Universe organizers and contestants from over 90 countries, security measures at various pageant venues and coordination with partners in the private sectors.

The cost of staging the monthlong event is estimated at $11 million.

The DOT has assured President Duterte that the government won’t have to spend a single centavo as private sponsors will shoulder the production expenses.

The committee has endorsed to Mr. Duterte a draft administrative order to formally constitute the Miss Universe Philippine Host Committee involving at least 12 government agencies to be led by DOT.

The hosting committee includes the Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Foreign Affairs and  Department of Trade and Industry, among other government agencies.- Erika Sauler, With a report from Inquirer Research