Guinness bid causes massive traffic jam

An attempt by a party-list group to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest caravan reportedly caused heavy traffic in Manila yesterday morning.

King Cortez, one of the campaign managers of the Bagong Alyansang Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikain Sambayanan (Batas) party-list, said they achieved their goal of breaking the Guinness record for the longest caravan when they assembled 6,000 vehicles at the Quirino Grandstand.

The previous record for the longest caravan was 300 vehicles, but he could not recall what year and in what country this feat was accomplished.

However, Batas’ motorcade reportedly inconvenienced motorists who were traveling in the area because of the "volume of vehicle." Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias of the Manila Police District Traffic Enforcement Unit (MPDTEU) said the sheer volume of vehicles "as they were entering and leaving the Quirino Grandstand caused a temporary traffic. The motorists had to slow down as they entered and left the venue, that is common in any motorcade."

He said there was no need to close any roadway and clarified that there was no "spill over" of vehicles outside the Grandstand.

Jamias said the motorcade was legal because the organizers were able to secure a permit from the Manila City Hall. Cortez added that there was also proper coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and that if they needed a bigger parking area, the other vehicles were advised to proceed to the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The MPDTEU reportedly deployed 238 of its personnel to ease the flow of traffic in the city.

Cortez said they started assembling at 4 a.m. from three different points – Monumento, Pasay City and Ortigas – before they went around EDSA two times and reached the Quirino Grandstand at around 8 a.m.

Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos said there is no rule that limits the number of participants in a campaign rally or motorcade and that the police and traffic bureaus of local government units are the ones in charge of maintaining peace and order during the conduct of such activities. – With James Mananghaya