Angelica Panganiban draws mixed reactions over traffic rant
Angelica Panganiban drew mixed reactions after complaining about the heavy traffic.
In a now-expired Instagram Story, Panganiban lamented how it took her one hour to travel from Makati to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
“Makati to BGC. 4KM ang layo to be exact pero 1hr ang travel time,” she said.
“What if mag cry na lang tayo all together?” she added with a head shaking horizontally emoji.
Screenshots of Panganiban's rant quickly circulated online, and some netizens weren't pleased about it.
Some questioned why a person of her stature complains about what the general public experiences daily.
“At least your traffic is still comfy… w/ aircon, with music, with snacks inside your vehicle… while the ordinary commuter has to make do with all the discomforts. Be grateful, kahit trapik eh nakakotse ka," one user said.
“Kayong mga artista matuto rin kayong dumanas ng hirap at pagtitiis hindi lahat ng pagkakataon puro lang pasarap sa buhay ginagawa ninyo, dapat lang na maranasan ninyo ang dinaranas ng mga taong mahihirap," another user said.
But other users were more sympathetic, especially since she was talking about a collective experience.
Social media personality @ricci_richy on X wondered why Panganiban is getting criticized for telling the truth.
"Di ko gets why people are hating on Angelica and saying that she’s out of touch when she just stated a fact? Crazy," the user said.
"Angelica is right. I’d be saying the same thing," another user said in reply to the tweet.
"That’s why I really love Ange kasi sobrang totoo niya at vocal in all aspects," one more user said.
It wasn't the first time that Panganiban ranted about the country's traffic situation.
In 2019, she took to then-Twitter her grievances, writing tweet after tweet.
"Question... tatanggapin na lang ba natin ang sistema ng traffic ng bansa natin?" she wrote.
"So yung buhay natin, kalahating naubos sa kotse, kalahating stressed?" she continued.
"Tapos, walang care yung government? Naglalakad lang ba sila papuntang work? Or nakakalipad sila nang hindi natin alam?" she added.
When a user replied to her about having "no choice," Panganiban quoted the user and said, "Tao tayo. [Mamamayan] tayo. Bakit walang choice? Bakit mo tatanggapin ang hindi tama? In this life time hindi tayo aalma sa traffic?”
Data provider TomTom, in its 2023 Traffic Index, showed that Metro Manila had the worst traffic congestion in a metro area among 387 cities worldwide in 2023.
According to the study, motorists in the capital spent an average travel time of 25 minutes and 30 seconds per 10 kilometers that year. That's 50 seconds longer than it took to cover the same distance in 2022.
Throughout the year, motorists spent 240 hours on the road, 117 hours of which were spent crawling through rush-hour traffic at an average speed of 19 kilometers per hour. This translates to four days and 21 hours in traffic, an amount of time that TomTom said can be used to read 48 books.
The Department of Transportation acknowledged the traffic index, saying it “poses a challenge not just for DOTr, but other agencies as well to be creative at finding lasting solutions to metro traffic.”
According to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)'s 2023 annual report on average daily traffic, meanwhile, there are an average of 3.6 million vehicles along major thoroughfares in the capital. Of that number, there are 1.6 million motorcycles and 1.5 million private cars.
Commonwealth Avenue had the highest volume with about 407,900 vehicles daily, followed by EDSA with 407,300, and Quezon Avenue with 312,000.
The country's traffic situation prompted British band Coldplay to write an impromptu song poking fun at the situation during its sold-out concert at the Philippine Arena in January 2024.
In TomTom's 2024 Traffic Index, Manila placed 14th on the list of worst traffic in city centers worldwide. Commuters in the capital region logged an average of 32 minutes and 10 seconds of travel time per 10 kilometers and lost 127 hours per year in traffic.
