There seems to be no let up in the traffic congestion at the Mandaue-Mactan bridge. Traveling during weekends and avoiding rush hours is no guarantee you won’t get stuck. The problem in the Mactan side is that everybody is supposed to queue in the middle lane. The long line goes all the way back past Gaisano Mactan. Some drivers don’t have any respect and patience t o observe this queue and they dash through the tricycle lane and make "singit" when they get near the intersection before the bridge. There are traffic enforcers by the traffic light but they do not even attempt to reprimand these traffic violators.
Filipinos are still learning to queue, or rather they are masters in the art of cutting in. Not only is this evident in traffic lines, you frequently see it at moviehouses, especially during premieres and roadshow presentations. The long line to the ticket booth is at least fifty people deep and hard to miss. Trust a group of three to five people to simply walk up close to the front and nonchalantly sidle up with a harmless looking fellow who is usually too timid to object. Sometimes it is just one person but then a few minutes later here comes a friend or acquaintance who joins in. At worse, when you thought you were being nice to this old lady or cute kid you want to kick yourself later when the whole family arrives.
There is a technique at work here. Female teenagers will cut in front of boys, older people cut in front of younger people, kids cut in front of office employees, streetboys cut in front of ladies. There is always a good chance that the people behind won’t object and let them get away with it. When it backfires the guilty party gives a silly grin and a lame excuse that they didn’t know there is a line. Ha! Obviously they’re not blind because they’re going to watch a movie, but it makes one wonder how come they seldom cut in front of their peers. You know, people who are of their age, sex, social and economic group. Probably because they know their kind won’t put up with it.
How will people learn to fall in line when others allow them and let them get away with it? Salesgirls in drug stores automatically service the one who has the louder voice and is waving bills even though there are other people who have been there longer, quietly waiting for their turn. Attendants at fastfood counters entertain people who cut in from the right or left when it is the turn of the person in front. It is the same with some priests and lay ministers giving out communion during masses. Supermarket cashiers ring up the purchases of shoppers with a cartful of groceries even though she is in an express lane for five items or less. Inspite of repeated announcements of the boarding procedure according to seat numbers plane passengers still make a scramble to board their aircraft prompting one terminal employee to declare in exasperation, "Ayaw mo kabalaka, dili lagi mo mahutdan ug lingkoranan," or "Don’t worry, the plane won’t leave without you."
There is little distinction among people who don’t observe lines. They vary in age, sex, and socio-economic status. Though it is the hallmark of breeding or upbringing, we’ve seen enough fashionable teens, gentlemen in barong and bejeweled matrons violating this courtesy too often. We’ve also seen laborers, senior citizens, and grade school students who are offended and aggrieved when salesgirls attend to people who just butt in out of nowhere while they have been cooling their heels waiting in line. You can hear them muttering "discrimination."
If we see somebody cutting in, we should politely and firmly direct them to the end of the line. We should also remind salesgirls and waiters to enforce their "first come first served" policy. Sometimes we are prevented from doing so because we don’t want to antagonize strangers or make a scene. That’s wrong. We are not the contravidas here. People who don’t respect lines are the ones who are rude and ill-mannered. Cebu would be a much better place if we can do without their kind.