ILOILO City – Thousands of commuters and motorists were immobilized by monstrous traffic jams on major roads here yesterday, three days before Christmas.
The gridlock stalled from Jaro district all the way to the City Proper, with travel lasting for several hours.
Jeck Conlu, chief of the city government’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, blamed the “12 Days of Merry Promo” of fuel firm Petron Corp.
The 50 percent price cut at Petron’s select branches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. saw motorists flock pump stations all over the city. Photos taken near gas stations were a testament to how much hype the promo generated.
This holiday gimmick, however, did not sit well with the city’s top traffic manager.
According to Conlu, it only exacerbated the metro’s already chaotic traffic situation since Monday.
“We appreciate your (Petron) intention. However, as much as it can help our fellow Ilonggos in this time of need, the entire city experienced a chaotic traffic flow and aggravated the influx of people, which is very detrimental to our fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” Conlu said.
Conlu told the oil company to inform the city government ahead of time whenever they hold promotional events like they did yesterday.
He stressed that the safety of everyone should always be the utmost priority.
“You might have helped some of your customers but you inconvenienced thousands of others,” Conlu said.
As vehicles move at a snail’s pace, social media, particularly Facebook, exploded with angry posts from netizens.
For one, Tara Yap of Jaro said: “Petron Philippines should pay compensatory damage for its moronic marketing stunt today. Pumping gas at 50 percent off screwed up other people’s time and work schedule.”
She was supposed to attend a meeting in the City Proper but failed to ride a jeepney or taxi due to the long and stagnant traffic.
Another city resident, Francis Basco, aired his frustration over yesterday’s road congestion.
“Fifty percent off sa gasolina nyo, 100 percent perwisyo sa trapiko!” Basco wrote.
Petron Corp. on Tuesday issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience.
“It is our desire to extend assistance to the public by offering discounted fuels for a limited time, as well as give back to all the loyal customers who continuously support Petron. We recognize that this activity has caused some inconvenience due to heavy traffic,” part of the statement reads.
“We sincerely apologize and have taken note of all of your feedback and suggestions,” it added.
Petron became one of the top trending topics on Twitter following the promo.
Before giving the fuel discount, Petron also implemented the following price hikes: P0.75 per liter for gasoline, P0.85 for diesel, and P0.80 for kerosene, saying the adjustments reflected movements in the international oil market. /PN
