Why Many Filipinos May Be The Biggest Contributor To Christmas Traffic Woes

One of the biggest reasons why Christmas isn't really more fun in the Philippines is because of heavy, intense traffic during the season. I always find it crazy that some people would blame the president. Noynoy Aquino had some rather invalid blame for the traffic during his term. Now, President Rodrigo R. Duterte gets some blame too and some Yellowtards feel like they only experienced it "just now". Well, I'd like to really throw in some harsh reality on the faces of Filipinos this holiday season. It's just now I realized that many Filipinos may be the biggest contributor to Christmas traffic woes.

Let's consider the bad habit of procrastination for the entire year. Is it me or is procrastination already been long ingrained into Filipino culture when it shouldn't? Worse, you may be having Filipinos who are very proud of their tardiness. I could always link procrastination to traffic woes. It may sound stupid but it isn't. Do you notice that some people tend to drive too fast on the road? It's because many of them are on a RUSH because they will be late. They may be oversleeping because they think, "Well it's still X time." then they realize that they will be late. Hmmm... and maybe they will be late beyond the one hour allowance, right? Sorry really but procrastination would be a good reason why so many Filipino drivers drive so fast. If they decided to leave on the right time then you can think how much time they could have saved. They could have drove at the right pace without affecting other drivers.

Procrastination results to the late Christmas shopping and grocery. I remembered the time when my parents and relatives would do their Christmas shopping from November to early December. Some stores do their Christmas sales as early as November. Why would people choose to do their Christmas shopping on DECEMBER? The malls have already displayed their goods ready on NOVEMBER, the sale happened on NOVEMBER. But we do know how Little Miss Late likes to be late, right? I guess that's why December 24th tends to have that HEAVY OF A TRAFFIC. It's not just people going to attend Christmas parties but also people still going to the malls to get their gifts. That just reminds me of the failed comedy movie called Jingle All the Way starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold's role was a neglectful father who tried to get the hit action figure on CHRISTMAS EVE rather than two weeks ago when it was STILL AVAILABLE.

Traffic could have been avoided if more Filipino shoppers started to stop procrastinating. Want the hit action figure? Don't follow Jingle All the Way and get that action figure as early as November. Want to get stuff readied for the Noche Buena? Why not do grocery early because all the traditional Christmas food (like ham) would most likely be SOLD OUT on Christmas Eve. That procrastination could've been avoided if more Filipinos learned to stop overspending. If they already had money before November then they can start shopping. If they could have put aside some money for Christmas expenses then they wouldn't have to desperately borrow money. If they just had a well-planned budget then they too could've contributed to less traffic.

Just imagine it if more Filipinos stopped procrastinating then how the roads will be at ease during the Christmas season. Just imagine it that by December 24 - the shops can finally close early to spend time with their loved ones. Just imagine it that by December 24 - all the toys and gifts are already ready to be given during the Christmas gathering. Unfortunately, this is still a problem that can't be solved so easily without a real system change. Singapore is not just progressive because it's punctual but also because its SYSTEM encourages punctuality.