Monstrous traffic jam in Manila caused by Atienza candidacy announcement

[garci]

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/news200701196301.htm
Monstrous Manila traffic jam
By Evelyn Macairan
The Philippine Star 01/19/2007

Traffic in Manila was tied up yesterday due to Manila Mayor Lito Atienza’s last "state-of-the-city" address at Rajah Sulaiman Park along scenic Roxas Boulevard, where he announced that he is fielding his son as the Liberal Party’s (LP) mayoralty candidate in the upcoming midterm elections in May.

Atienza’s second son, Arnold "Ali" Atienza heads the city government’s Inner-City Development program and is President Arroyo’s adviser on sports.

The closure of Roxas Boulevard for yesterday’s rally — which featured boxing champ Manny Pacquiao — tied up traffic mostly in the Malate district as vehicles were backed up for several kilometers in many directions.

Intersections were clogged bumper-to-bumper as motorists tried to find a way through. Many complained that the city government gave no traffic advisory the day before.

Police Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias, of the Manila District Traffic Enforcement Office, said both lanes of Roxas Boulevard from Pedro Gil Street to Quirino Avenue were closed from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. yesterday.

"I have already deployed about 80 percent of our traffic personnel and we are getting support from the Manila Police District (MPD) to ensure an easy flow of traffic. But it just so happened that since it is a Thursday, a regular working day, we didn’t expect a volume of vehicles," said Jamias.

Senior Police Officer 3 Jose Cundangan partly attributed the jam to stubborn motorists who ignored detour signs.

As a result of the road closures, commuters were forced to walk to their destinations.

Atienza, who is ending his third and final term as mayor this year, is confident his son will win despite his youth.

"After holding consultations with various sectors in the youth, non-government organizations, barangay leaders, women, parishes (it showed that) there is unanimity. Ali will run for city mayor of Manila," the elder Atienza told thousands of supporters.

Atienza had initially eyed his eldest son, Kim, to be his successor. But the younger Atienza abandoned hopes of becoming mayor and instead started making his mark as a weatherman in a television station.

As for Ali’s running mate, they are still choosing from three possible contenders namely Deputy Mayor Don Bagatsing, Sixth District Councilor Greco Belgica and First District Congressman Ernesto "Banzai" Nieva.

But among the three possible vice mayoralty candidates, Bagatsing has the edge because he already had experienced campaigning citywide as Mayor Atienza’s running mate during the 2004 elections.

However, they would also consider the fact that his uncle Amado is reported to be interested to run for congressman under another political party. "In politics, families have to be united," the local chief executive said.

Bagatsing was Mayor Atienza’s running mate but lost to Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna, who is also seeking the city’s premier post.

"The qualifications that I am looking for in all our candidates is that they should be totally committed to urban development plan of ‘Buhayin ang Maynila’ program," the elder Atienza said.

One of the biggest problems that Ali might face in this year’s election is his young age. At 34, political pundits speculate that his capability would be questioned on the campaign trail.

But his father and mentor said he believed that youth might be his son’s advantage. The elder Atienza further challenged opposing candidates to present their programs of government "and let us compete in an intelligent manner".


Bakit kailangan pa isara ang Roxas blvd when he can hold his "State of the City" address at Quirino Grandstand para di magkakabuhol-buhol ang traffic. I think his son lost a lot of votes because of that
.

[Teej]

Nakakainis to. My route was intramuros-roxas-un and hindi ko talaga maiwasan yung traffic. almost 1 hour din ako sa traffic na yan.

[IMm29]

Abuse of authority? Tsk Tsk. He should've chosen a better venue so as not to bring about more traffic.

[impulzz]

kakainis sinisi pa ang mga motorista sa ginawa nilang abala. only in the pilipines

[BoEinG_747]

nakakainis naman ito si Lito Atienza...gumawa ng malaking traffic dahil sa pagkandidato ng anak niya

mabuti pa ang baywalk bodies .
kahit mag traffic doon sulit naman sa makikita mo
,eh ang anak niya ano kaya madidinig mo doon

dapat hulihin at ikulong din sila mag ama.

[XTO]

Being incumbent, he should not be misuse his authority. Tsk tsk

[claRkEnt]

haynaku.... aga mangampanya! obvious naman...

[ILuvDetailing]

All of this fuss just to announce the candidacy of his son and closing a major road ON A WEEKDAY during rush-hour traffic as if we have enough traffic

Can't he just have a simple press conference for that.

[zero]

"kaya laging ninyong tatandaan na ang buhay ay weather-weather lang!" - kim atienza

[shadow]

Traffic in Manila was tied up yesterday due to Manila Mayor Lito Atienza’s last "state-of-the-city" address at Rajah Sulaiman Park along scenic Roxas Boulevard, where he announced that he is fielding his son as the Liberal Party’s (LP) mayoralty candidate in the upcoming midterm elections in May.

Atienza’s second son, Arnold "Ali" Atienza heads the city government’s Inner-City Development program and is President Arroyo’s adviser on sports.

The closure of Roxas Boulevard for yesterday’s rally — which featured boxing champ Manny Pacquiao — tied up traffic mostly in the Malate district as vehicles were backed up for several kilometers in many directions.

Intersections were clogged bumper-to-bumper as motorists tried to find a way through. Many complained that the city government gave no traffic advisory the day before.

Police Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias, of the Manila District Traffic Enforcement Office, said both lanes of Roxas Boulevard from Pedro Gil Street to Quirino Avenue were closed from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. yesterday.

"I have already deployed about 80 percent of our traffic personnel and we are getting support from the Manila Police District (MPD) to ensure an easy flow of traffic. But it just so happened that since it is a Thursday, a regular working day, we didn’t expect a volume of vehicles," said Jamias.

Senior Police Officer 3 Jose Cundangan partly attributed the jam to stubborn motorists who ignored detour signs.

As a result of the road closures, commuters were forced to walk to their destinations.

Atienza, who is ending his third and final term as mayor this year, is confident his son will win despite his youth.

"After holding consultations with various sectors in the youth, non-government organizations, barangay leaders, women, parishes (it showed that) there is unanimity. Ali will run for city mayor of Manila," the elder Atienza told thousands of supporters.

Atienza had initially eyed his eldest son, Kim, to be his successor. But the younger Atienza abandoned hopes of becoming mayor and instead started making his mark as a weatherman in a television station.

As for Ali’s running mate, they are still choosing from three possible contenders namely Deputy Mayor Don Bagatsing, Sixth District Councilor Greco Belgica and First District Congressman Ernesto "Banzai" Nieva.

But among the three possible vice mayoralty candidates, Bagatsing has the edge because he already had experienced campaigning citywide as Mayor Atienza’s running mate during the 2004 elections.

However, they would also consider the fact that his uncle Amado is reported to be interested to run for congressman under another political party. "In politics, families have to be united," the local chief executive said.

Bagatsing was Mayor Atienza’s running mate but lost to Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna, who is also seeking the city’s premier post.

"The qualifications that I am looking for in all our candidates is that they should be totally committed to urban development plan of ‘Buhayin ang Maynila’ program," the elder Atienza said.

One of the biggest problems that Ali might face in this year’s election is his young age. At 34, political pundits speculate that his capability would be questioned on the campaign trail.

But his father and mentor said he believed that youth might be his son’s advantage. The elder Atienza further challenged opposing candidates to present their programs of government "and let us compete in an intelligent manner".


bwisit talaga yan si atienza!!! grabe ang traffic kahapon, I was stuck yesterday sa taft, sino ibang naipit din sa traffic??? dhil sa so called state of the city address niya...(SOCA), talagang nakakasuka!!!! alam naman natin na nag early campaign lang siya para sa anak niya, ano yan dynasty??? atienza lang ba ang mga magagaling sa manila? kung gusto nila mag campaign sinasara pa yun roxas eh, nakakaapekto sila sa lahat ng tao, sana matalo yan si ali, out nowhere siya ang ilalaban sa mayorhsip? ano ba alam niya? siguro takot lang si lito na pag iba nanalo makikita lahat ng mga anomalies niya sa "pagandahin and manila" project niya,

sorry just ranting nakkabwisit lang!!!!

[HIFI]

Grabe....nag-campaign na! At the expense of taxpayers' resources.

[HIFI]

Talk of the town na ngayon si Atienza....dahil sa ginawang traffic.

Effective talaga! Nandiyan na si Pacquiao, kulang na lang....isang female movie star!

[mbeige]

Think of it, the traffic may have worked against him considering he didn't give any early warning and it has caused delays.

[hotwheels]

yes indeed, an abuse of authority in the part of Atienza, he can make use of Quirino Grandstand to prevent the traffic jam but I believe he did it intentionally to create media mileage.
hope the Manilenyo knows already who to vote.

[simplicity]

+9999!!!

buwisit yang kups na yan! me sked pa naman ako magpa-masahe sa makati kagabi. from parking ko sa tabi ng luneta (bocobo/kalaw ofc ko), ikot ako sa likod ng SM manila, daan ng Adamson, trapik pa rin sa Apacible. pero nung makalabas na ako ng Quirino den liko sa SSHW ayos na. at me mga kups pa na sumabay ke mayor kup. nagbanggaan sa gitna ng sshw. ayos. great.
ayun late ako sa masahe. pero tuloy pa rin!

[gearspeed]

Gusto ata niya buong mundo maka alam kaya dun sa Rajah Sulayman Park nag state of the city address.

[IMm29]

Well, he's getting the attention he wanted. Though it may be bad publicity, it's still publicity. Their name gets on the list (even if it's a sh1tlist). I do hope the people of Manila will know who to rightfully vote.

[deZw07]

Yeah I was really pissed yesterday. I wasn't able to attend my class yesterday because of that! I left the house at 3:30 PM, my class starts at 4:30 and what? I arrived at school at 6 PM. tsk tsk. He and his son should be punished for the inconvenience they caused to a lot of motorists, as well as commuters yesterday. Kawawa yun mga fx and bus, ubos yun gas nila kahapon.

[oldblue]

hindi ko talaga matagalan tignan ang mag-ama na yan na naka-hawaiian outfit parati + formal slacks. sana nag-shorts na lang sila saka flip-flops.

[claRkEnt]

It is ok if they are the ones causing the jams and yet if there are some groups applying for rally permits, instant NO in manila.

IIRC, they stopped a group of around 10 people from B&W Movement "walking" in Roxaz Blvd cause they are creating traffic daw.

Saka yung Baywalk Bodies, they arrested dahil causing traffic yata (although these are welcome sights for motorists).

"what are we in power for?" tiyak ang priciple ni Atienza.