Media told to brace for Manila traffic at Southeast Asian Games
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Local reporters covering the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines have been warned to take into account Manila's maddening traffic when getting from point A to B.
"We know traffic in Jakarta is bad, but you might as well be prepared for a worse situation there. It's crazy," Linda Wahyudi, a media officer for the National Sports Council (KONI), said during a media conference here on Thursday.
Linda was part of a 13-strong KONI team who took part in a recent three-day meeting of delegation heads in Manila.
The meeting discussed preparations of the Philippines Organizing Committee (Philsoc) concerning the venues, security, transportation and accommodation for the region's largest sporting gathering, to be held from Nov. 27-Dec.5.
"Always double the officially stated time predictions," Linda told reporters about transportation. "It says 20 minutes from the Main Press Center (MPC) to my hotel. In fact we needed more than 40."
The MPC is on the sixth floor of the Manila International Convention Center.
Linda said KONI received applications for media accreditation from 229 Indonesian journalists, 60 of whom are broadcasters, for the event.
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and new regional member Timor Leste will vie for medals in 41 sports.
While most sports will be held in Metro Manila and its surroundings, several others will be hosted in Cebu and Bacolod City.
Archery, canoeing/kayaking, sailing and triathlon are at Subic Bay Freeport, about two and a half hours from Manila.
Bacolod, the venue for men's soccer, volleyball, boxing and weightlifting, lies in the southern part of the country. Martial arts are organized in Cebu.
"You may not have enough time to cover the events, but Philsoc has guaranteed a quick update of the results from various venues which will be accessible through PCs at media centers," Linda said.
Media officer Graito Usodo said national athletes, who will compete in 36 sports, would depart on a staggered schedule.
"The soccer team will open the trip on Nov. 17, while the main batch will be on Nov. 24," he said.