“Manila traffic is unmatched,” posted South Korean singer Eric Nam during his visit to the country in early August. In just four words, he effectively summed up the plight of the average Filipino commuter with no choice but to suffer through hours of traffic jam. He is fortunate to experience our hellish heavy traffic for only a few days. But what about Pinoy commuters who, unless things change for the better, will be stuck in this situation for the rest of their lives?

Metro Manila is one of the cities with the longest hours spent in traffic

GoShorty’s study found that Manila has a 43 percent congestion level and Filipinos lose 98 hours to traffic annually. https://t.co/jOCPYvu3eF | @onenewsph pic.twitter.com/f47Se56yde

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) September 15, 2022

In a different kind of #PinoyPride, Metro Manila bagged 8th place at insurance technology site GoShorty’s research of worldwide cities with the highest levels of congestion. Their 2022 research showed Manila has 43% congested roads with Filipinos losing 98 hours stuck in traffic jams every year. That’s a little over four days annually. But is this research still accurate in 2023, where we can’t even pinpoint “rush hour” anymore?

How many days a year do you actually lose to traffic?

Sobrang hopeless ng ating bansa. Walang itulak kabigin. Nakakaiyak. Nakakagalit. pic.twitter.com/CmEBDGuLUf

— Anthony Esguerra (LEGIT) (@anthesguerra) August 22, 2023

On Reddit, folks who’ve had enough of maddening traffic jams chose to compute the days they lose to commutes.

Let’s say we have an employee from Bacoor, Cavite who works in BGC, Taguig. The journey typically takes about 1.5 hours of commuting one way, that’s already 3 hours back and forth. Factor in the time they spend lining up for buses and public transportation and we can round it off to a total 4 hours on the road every day.

There are 240 working days in the Philippines. Removing Vacation Leaves and Sick Leaves, we have around 220 days left.

Multiply 4 hours by 220 days and we’ve got a whopping 880 hours or 36 days on the road. If this employee owns a car, they also incur monetary loses (fuel, toll fees, etc.) on top of losing time and work productivity.

Comment
by u/ultra-kill from discussion ilang days nawawala sa inyo every year dahil sa commute/traffic?
in Philippines

“This is how I exactly visualize when decided to rent close to office,” said one person on Reddit. “Plus, being on the road technically shortens your life expectancy due to added risks of traveling to work, plus associated health impacts.”

“4 hrs balikan, 2 yrs sa work, 74 days nakaupo sa bus,” lamented another.

Is traffic a sign of booming economy?

While workers languish in hours-long commutes and car rides, a private sector advisor of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says not to worry; traffic just means there’s plenty of economic activity. https://t.co/7o0Jd7BiLf pic.twitter.com/aE99IgfhPv

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) August 24, 2023

Billionaire Joey Concepcion III, a private sector advisor of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., seems to be convinced that heavy traffic is a sign that the Philippine economy is flourishing.

“Of course, you have traffic. I mean, there’s traffic all over the world in areas that the economy is really doing [well],” he said in an interview with One Balita Pilipinas news.

“When you go to a country, and you see that there’s a lot of people moving – traffic and all of that – that means there’s a lot of economic activity. But if the streets are empty and there’s nobody, that means the economy is not moving,” Concepcion added.

He also added, in a separate interview, that businesses should remove their work from home option for employees since “there is no more pandemic.” According to him, this is to encourage mobility and consumer spending and boost the economy.

Concepcion’s statement drew the ire of Pinoys online.

“Joey Concepcion is willing to let people suffer in traffic just so urban businesses can retain their old mindset. He totally disregarded the impact of work-from-home to rural economies and small businesses in the provinces,” read one comment on X (formerly Twitter). 

“I don’t know what kind of businessman Joey Concepcion is, but he’s been spouting a lot of nonsense lately,” tweeted another.  “How can he not worry [about heavy traffic] when man hours of productivity are lost on traffic? What’s the effect on work-life balance? People do need to rest too. Puro pera na lang ba?”

Pinoys need a better solution

Ang lala ng Metro Manila traffic. Wala pang Christmas season ito grrrrr

— Dr. Gia Sison (@giasison) August 24, 2023

According to a 2018 Japan International Cooperation Agency report, Metro Manila traffic is costing us as much as P3.5 billion every day. That number is projected to increase to P5.4 billion in 2035. And with this constant cycle of inflation and traumatic traffic jams, Pinoys are only left to wonder when it will ever end.

Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube, to be the first to know about the latest news and coolest trends!