Former senator Ping Lacson has a piece of traffic advice to foreign teams competing in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“Friendly advice to the FIBA World Cup participating teams,” Lacson, a former PNP chief and presidential candidate, wrote on social media. “Don’t take EDSA. You will lose the game by default.”
Ping Lacson warns FIBA World Cup 2023 teams about EDSA traffic
Lacson made the comments a day before the quadrennial showpiece unfolds with games set at Philippine Arena in Bulacan, SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, and Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, a long-problematic traffic bottleneck.
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Organizers, however, have long assured that they’ve taken steps to ease the traffic congestion in the Big City from August 25 to September 10, when the country hosts World Cup games from the group stage to the finals.
Among the major steps, organizers have earmarked 400 point-to-point (P2P) shuttle buses for free to fans traveling to the Philippine Arena for Gilas Pilipinas’ opening game against the Dominican Republic on Friday, August 25.
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Other World Cup games that were originally set at the Philippine Arena were moved to SM MOA Arena to ease concerns about traffic management from Manila hotels, where teams are staying, to the Bulacan arena.
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has announced that it will implement intermittent stops on major roads for the duration of the World Cup to give way to teams and delagates. The agency has also confirmed that it will not suspend the number-coding scheme on Friday and will instead set up a multi-agency command center “to give way to a faster and more coordinated traffic management response.”
Malacañang has already declared August 25 as a holiday for public employees for the World Cup opening.
NOTE: This article first appeared on SPIN.ph. Minor edits have been made.
