Hundreds of vehicles stalled on Wednesday morning, Dec. 8 for several hours along Commonwealth Ave. due to the slow-moving joint caravan of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Lawyer Vic Rodriguez, Marcos' chief-of-staff and spokesman, in a statement asked for understanding from the motorists, the commuting public and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that were affected by the hour-long heavy traffic that Marcos and Duterte's "Unity Caravan" caused.
He said that despite early preparation, they did not expect that the event would be "overwhelmed" by supporters who were eager to see Marcos and Duterte.
The caravan, which started before 8 a.m. in front of the Commission on Audit (COA) on Commonwealth Ave. before ending in Welcome Rotonda on Quezon Ave. by 1 p.m., garnered thousands of supporters blocking the streets to cheer for the duo.
The traffic flow was so congested that the local government of Quezon City had to advise motorists to find a near u-turn slot and take an alternate route instead.
The local government also lamented the lack of coordination between them and the organizers while the caravan was ongoing, which was different from what traffic officials and the UniTeam organizers agreed to follow.