The heavy traffic in some parts of Manila during the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Manila this week should be “understandable,” the Palace said on Thursday amid public uproar over the traffic congestion.
“I think that should be understandable given the fact that [in] the Manila area, the work was suspended,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace press briefing.
The Palace official made the remark after the public complained about the unnaturally heavy traffic that was aggravated by unannounced road closures in some of the main roads in Manila.
“All the motorists would not be passing here because of the security, so they had to converge in the Makati area and other places, and there will be traffic, all of us, me too,” he said, stressing that even him had to endure the traffic.
“We have to live with that because the concern of the state would be the security of the visiting head of state [Xi],” he continued, adding that he was not aware of any comment coming from President Rodrigo Duterte himself about the traffic situation.
In November 2015, Duterte, who was then Davao City Mayor, lambasted Pope Francis for causing heavy traffic in Manila during the Catholic leader’s visit in the country in January.
But Panelo defended the President’s previous remark, emphasizing that there was a huge difference between the traffic jam caused by Xi’s two-day state visit to that of the Pope’s five-day visit.
“I guess if you compared the traffic the other day as against the Pope’s visit, there is a whale of a difference,” Panelo said in the same briefing.
“That time really took us six, seven, eight, nine, 10 hours; not this one. This one, over two hours only. It took me about that in coming here,” he added.
On Wednesday, Duterte’s security group and the Metro Manila Development Authority seemingly pointed fingers with each other over the road jams during Xi’s visit.
Presidential Security Group said the move to close roads in Metro Manila, which caused traffic congestion during the second day of Xi’s state visit, was the call of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Philippine National Police.
“In connection with the visit, we appeal to the understanding of those who may have been affected,” PSG spokesperson Capt. Zeerah Blanche Lucrecia said in a statement.
“As host to our State Guest, we provided the necessary hospitality and security to ensure the smooth flow of their movement,” she added.
MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago, meanwhile, said that the lockdown of some roads was instructed by the PSG, maintaining that they were just merely following instructions from the country’s security agency.
In a bid to strengthen ties with the Philippines, Xi, together with his delegation, visited the country on Nov. 20 to 21. During his visit, at least 29 deals were inked between the Philippines and China.