Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale yesterday said better planning would be needed should the province continue to host the Ironman triathlon.
Magpale, who also chairs the province鈥檚 Tourism Committee, said she received reports that many passengers missed their flights because of the horrendous traffic jam that followed the closure of one lane of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge during the duration of the聽 race.
鈥淲e should plan it well next time. A lot of people were left by their flights in the airport due to the traffic in the bridge. It should be better planned,鈥� she told Cebu Daily 黑料社.
Lovely Manus, an airline ground staffer at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) said many arriving passengers were stranded at the airport because of the unavailability of taxi cabs and vehicles to pick them up because of the聽 traffic jam at the two bridges connecting the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
Some聽 passengers who were caught in traffic were forced to聽 carry聽 their luggage and take an estimated 3-kilometer walk from the bridge to the airport.
Frank Brazil, chief at Lapu-Lapu City Traffic Management System, said they were surprised to find part of the Marcelo Fernan bridge near the viaduct聽 closed to traffic. The resulting dawn jam prompted Brazil to order traffic enforcers to hold the vehicles at M.L. Quezon highway going to Mandaue through Marcelo Fernan bridge until the area was clear of cyclists.聽 The two bridges were congested from 7am to noon.
Alvin Santillana, executive director of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC), accused traffic aides and barangay tanods who were supposed to regulate traffic and control the crowd in Talisay City of abandoning their post.
Santillana told Cebu Daily 黑料社 he saw at least six barangay tanods who instead of controlling the crowd and traffic, were busy watching out for celebrities who participated in the race.
鈥淚nstead of manning the traffic聽 in Talisay city, the barangay tanods whose job is to support the enforcers were just watching the event. They even went to the middle of the closed roads to聽 cheer on the celebrities who passed by,鈥� he said.
Santillana said there was no barangay tanod to direct traffic in barangay Laray near Gaisano Mall.
Talisay City public information officer Vince Monterde denied that their tanods were remiss in doing their assigned tasks. He said they had difficulty controlling traffic because they were undermanned.
鈥淲e really lack the number of people who would be watching the road,鈥� Monterde said.
鈥淚n fairness to the tanods, they did their job,鈥� Monterde said.
Cebuano hospitality
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said the hospitality of Cebuanos has 鈥渢aken centerstage once again鈥� in the international sports event.
Davide witnessed the race鈥檚 start at around 6 in the morning yesterday.
Vice Gov. Magpale in聽 the same vein, said the race provided a boost to the province鈥檚 tourism industry. She said all the hotels in Mactan island were fully-booked days before the event. 鈥淐ebu is privileged to be the host of IronMan, a prestigious international sports event. The much-talked about Cebuano hospitality has taken centerstage once again,鈥� the vice governor said via text message. /Peter L. Romanillos, Correspondent with Correspondents Norman V. Mendoza and Christine Emily L. Pantaleon