Ahead of the Holy Week, the exodus out of Metro Manila and other urban areas in the country is expected to begin this weekend.
In times past, the days commemorating the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ were observed with solemnity by most Filipinos. The faithful attended special religious events held on Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday.
It was considered sinful to be noisy or merry on those days. Radio and TV stations went off the air from Thursday to Saturday, although some played solemn music or showed religious movies.
With practically all business establishments closed, life in the country literally ground to a halt.
A true Christian is supposed to devote the week reliving the meaning of the Crucifixion of the Son of God. If he cannot attend Church activities, the least he can do is spend the week in silent meditation.
Woe to those who fail to conform to traditional Lenten practices during this season. According to old belief, bad luck or misfortune would hound the non-conformist for the rest of the year.
Well, times have changed. Today, the majority of Filipinos look to the Holy Week as an opportunity to rest, relax and enjoy the company of friends and loved ones in recreational spots.
Expressways
With apologies to devout Christians, the “irreligious” associate the coming week with trips to Baguio, Tagaytay or Boracay; for the well-heeled, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore.
For those coming from southern Metro Manila, travel to Baguio has become easier by way of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and, the latest, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).
For now, TPLEX is open only up to Paniqui, Tarlac. When completed, it will extend to Rosario, La Union, the gateway to Kennon or Naguilian road that leads to the City of Pines.
With these expressways, traffic permitting, the time on the road to Baguio has been cut by two to three hours.
While private motorists and businessmen may be happy about the ease of travel brought about by these roadways, some people apparently do not share the same feeling.
On the way back to Metro Manila through MacArthur Highway, the road that stretches from Caloocan City to La Union and passes through the provinces of Central Luzon and Pangasinan, there are billboards along the Tarlac portion of the highway that read “To Manila. Use MacArthur Highway. Toll Free.”
Consequences
Without being blunt about it, whoever paid for and put up those billboards are trying to discourage motorists from using the expressways that lead to Manila.
It looks like the people behind those signs are apprehensive that their businesses will be adversely affected if the expressways gain popularity in usage. Except for food outlets and service areas at NLEX, there are no other business establishments at the other expressways.
When NLEX was opened in the 1960s, the commercial centers in the towns in Bulacan and Pampanga that the expressway skirted suffered substantial losses from the traffic diversion.
The number of buses that brought hundreds of passengers to the drivers’ favorite eating places to buy food and native products as presents went down considerably.
A similar dip in revenue was suffered by other outlets that depended on transients or road travelers for their business.
The same economic downturn hit the towns of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac that were bypassed by SCTEX, the longest toll road in the country at 93.77 kilometers.
The losses suffered by the affected towns turned out though to be the gains of the towns where the expressways ended and the passengers had the chance to buy their necessities for the rest of the trip.
Advantages
That situation will repeat itself in the towns that TPLEX will traverse when completed. Like in the case of NLEX and SCTEX, expect bus operators and motorists to use TPLEX, in spite of the high toll fees, because of the savings in fuel and time.
The real clincher for the use of the expressways is road safety and security. There are no tricycles, slow moving jeepneys and reckless pedestrians that make driving through town streets a pain in the neck.
And in the unlikely event of an accident or car malfunction, there are roving security personnel who can quickly attend to the motorists’ emergency needs.
It is unfortunate that some business establishments in Tarlac have become collateral damage with the completion of TPLEX up to Paniqui, Tarlac. More of them will suffer the same fate when the expressway’s connection to Rosario, La Union, is completed by 2016.
By that time, if the road connecting the South Luzon Expressway to NLEX is finished on schedule, travel from the southern part of Luzon to the North will be a breeze via SCTEX and TPLEX.
With these roadways, commercial activities between the two ends of Luzon are expected to grow exponentially.
For the small and medium enterprises that are and will be adversely affected by TPLEX, it is not a small price to pay for progress. It’s a big deal. It means their livelihood.
With limited capital, it is not easy to shift to other businesses that can replace or make up for the revenue loss.
They have no choice but bite the bullet. The expressways are essential to the country’s economic growth and development.
Be that as it may, the affected businesses cannot be left to their own devices to cope with the business downtrend. The leadership of the areas affected by the expressways should take the appropriate steps to minimize their losses and provide proper assistance for them to be able to seek new sources of income.
(For comments, send your e-mail to rpalabrica@inquirer.com.ph.)