Election Craze = Traffic

The election fever has hit the city and the commuters are suffering because of it.

The other day I was driving through Mandaluyong going to Makati, and traffic was at a standstill along Nueve de Pebrero. It was rush hour and half the road was blocked. The reason for this traffic was a pep rally/motor brigade where the local candidates are seated on top of their trucks and SUVs, trying to charm the locals with their pathetic giveaways.

At first I was annoyed at these candidates. They have the nerve to hold a rally during the busiest hours, thereby causing a lot of traffic in the area. But as my temper subsided, I began to examine the whole event as an interesting social phenomenon.

My car slowly crawled out of Nueve. I passed a couple of candidates' cars and there was a huge crowd following them. Apparently the candidates were throwing away free candies, cardboard fans and other election goodies to the people. It reminded me of Christmas and the crowd was cheering at the free giveaways.

I guess some people are still easily pleased and swayed by free goodies. Or maybe they really love these candidates. But somehow this has made me even more indifferent to the whole electoral process.

I'm counting the days till life gets back to normal.