Commuters told to pray rosary, multitask to fight stress during traffic jams

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque on Monday gave tips on how commuters and motorists can keep themselves busy while traveling on congested roads.

“Say the rosary. It would take about 15 to 30 minutes. Don’t rush the prayer, then you contemplate, then you meditate after that. That way you will feel more relaxed,” Duque said in an interview on GMA News’ "Balitanghali."

Aside from praying the rosary, Duque also suggested that motorists and commuters should multitask.

“‘Yung sasakyan mo gawin mong opisina, mag-transact ka ng business using your iPhone, iPad, laptop,” the health secretary said.

(Make your vehicle your mobile office, transact business using your iPhone, iPad, laptop)

“Manood ka na lang ng Netflix sa inyong laptop o manood ka ng kung anu-ano sa YouTube para lang maaliw ka,” he added.

(Just watch Netflix on your laptop or watch anything on YouTube so that you’d be entertained)

Duque reminded the public that anger may lead to high blood pressure and risks heart problems.

The Metro Manila Development Authority earlier warned residents and workers of heavier traffic during the holiday season. Meanwhile, Google-owned navigation app, Waze, earlier said Manila remains as the world’s worst city for drivers.

In an interview with Philstar.com, EDSA traffic czar and MMDA traffic operations chief Edison Nebrija, downplayed the Waze report and argued it should be put into context. Metro Manila has 16 cities, he pointed out, and it was treated as one municipality compared to other cities in the world.

“E ‘yung iba dun isang city lang, tayo ikinumpara sa isang city lang when in fact we are one metropolis,” Nebrija said.

(The others are just one city, we’re compared to a city when in fact we are one metropolis) — Rosette Adel

RELATED: Manila traffic world’s worst — Waze