Media told to brace for Manila traffic at Southeast Asian Games
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.