Freddie gets caught in traffic, takes MRT

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach, caught in a monstrous traffic along Edsa the other day, took an MRT ride to his hotel in Makati.

He liked it so much he said he’d do it again.

“It was great. I remembered the days when I was a kid taking trains in Boston,” said Roach then coming off the Elorde Gym at the corner of Roosevelt and Del Monte avenues at around 6 p.m.

He was in a van with Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, sparring partners Michael Medina and Glen Tapia, and Team Pacquiao member Joe Ramos when they got caught in traffic.

There was an ongoing dispersal of squatter families near the Trinoma Mall, and when things weren’t moving, they all jumped out of the van and took the MRT train to the New World Hotel.

“Traffic wasn’t moving and it seemed there was chaos. So we got out of the van, asked our driver to go home, and we took the MRT. We counted eleven stops before we got to our hotel,” said Roach.

“It was great,” said Ariza.

Roach said the train was packed, and fortunately, he was hardly recognized by those around him.

“All throughout the ride, I only had two pictures taken inside the train. Maybe they didn’t recognize me. And I never talked inside the train,” he said.

In his previous visits to the country, Roach said he was never caught in a traffic as horrible as this one, mainly because he always had motor escorts with screaming sirens.

Roach said he’s aware of President Aquino’s “walang wang-wang” (no sirens) policy.

“I love that no-sirens thing. When I was here the last time everybody had them,” he said, before asking scribes what happens to those caught with sirens.

“They get tickets and their sirens confiscated by the police,” he was told.

“Oh, that’s good. I like that,” he answered.