Most motorists and commuters were trapped for three to five hours on the streets of Metro Manila on Sept. 8, when thunderstorms caused floods and heavy traffic along major thoroughfares, including the financial district of Makati City.
The traffic was so bad that even top executives of major companies shared to journalists what they experienced on that eventful night.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz said he had just arrived from Cebu that night and was hoping to have dinner at home by 8 or 9 p.m. Hours after leaving the airport, he was still along Edsa in front of Dusit Hotel at 11:30 pm. He arrived home the next day, or a little past 12 midnight.
Philippine Stock Exchange president and chief executive Hans Sicat also had the same experience, coming home later than usual.
The next day, Sicat was ordering coffee at Starbucks when a girl barista could not help express her frustration over the heavy traffic she experienced the night before, maybe without knowing she was ranting to the president of the PSE.
If the chauffeur-driven executives also complain over road gridlock, who has gall to say traffic is not fatal to the economy?