SPIN ANALYSIS: IS HEAVY TRAFFIC A SIGN OF BOOMING ECONOMY?

 

Scene: A dark and rainy night. A car is driving on a deserted road. The driver is a young woman named Anna, who looks nervous and scared. She is talking on the phone with someone.

Anna: (voice-over) I don’t know what to do. I think someone is following me.

Phone: (voice-over) Calm down, Anna. Where are you?

Anna: (voice-over) I’m on the highway, heading to the cabin.

Phone: (voice-over) Okay, good. Just keep driving. You’ll be safe there.

Anna: (voice-over) But what if he finds me? What if he knows the truth?

Phone: (voice-over) He doesn’t know anything, Anna. Trust me. You’re the only one who knows the secret.

Anna: (voice-over) But how can you be sure? How can I be sure?

Phone: (voice-over) Because I’m the one who told you.

Cut to black

Have you ever watched and felt excited, curious, or suspenseful about the film? Have you ever wondered how the filmmakers created such an impression on you?

One of the techniques they use is called timing and framing of information, which involves controlling when and how information is presented to the audience, to create a certain effect. This technique is known as spin.

The above movie trailer -- an example from popular culture -- illustrated the concept of spin that uses the technique of timing and framing of information. Sit back, keep on reading, and seeing in your mind the rest of the film trailer.

Title: THE SECRET

Narrator: (voice-over) The story of a woman who discovers a shocking secret that changes her life forever. A secret that someone else wants to know. A secret that someone else wants to kill for.

Cut to scenes of Anna being chased by a mysterious man in a black coat and hat, who has a knife in his hand. He breaks into her car, her apartment, and her cabin. He confronts her in various locations, such as a parking lot, a subway station, and a forest. He tries to stab her, but she fights back and escapes.

Narrator: (voice-over) Who is he? What does he want? How far will he go to get it? And what is the secret that Anna knows?

Cut to scenes of Anna talking to different people, such as her friend, her boss, her therapist, and her lover. They all seem to have something to hide or something to reveal. They all seem to be involved in the secret somehow.

Narrator: (voice-over) Who can she trust? Who can she believe? How far will he go to get it? And what is the secret that Anna knows?

Cut to scenes of Anna finding clues and evidence that lead her to the truth. She sees the photos, documents, videos, and messages that reveal the secret bit by bit. She also sees flashbacks of her past that explain how she learned the secret in the first place.

Narrator: (voice-over) What is the secret? How did she find out? How does it affect her? And how does it affect everyone else?

Cut to black

Title: THE SECRET

Narrator: (voice-over) The secret will shock you. The secret will thrill you. The secret will change you.

Cut to a final of Anna facing the mysterious man in a dark room. He has cornered her and raised his knife. She looks at him with fear and anger.

Anna: (shouting) Why are you doing this? Why are you after me?

Man: (whispering) Because you know the secret.

Anna: (whispering) What secret?

Man: (whispering) The secret that …

Cut to black

Narrator: (voice-over) The Secret. Coming soon to the theaters near you.

(Corny spoiler alert: Anna is a whistleblower who knows “the secret” of the rigged May 2022 election as alleged by the TNT Trio.)

Moving ahead, influencing public opinion or perception of a certain issue, event, organization, or person in politics, a spin is often considered a negative or deceptive practice, as it involves presenting a biased or distorted version of reality to achieve a desired outcome. It can be seen as a form of propaganda or manipulation.

THE TRAFFIC PROBLEM

Traffic congestion is a serious problem that affects millions of people in the Philippines every day. According to a report by Oliver Wyman Forum and the University of California, Berkeley, the Philippines has the fifth worst public transportation system in the world. Moreover, the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated that traffic congestion costs the Philippine economy P3.5 billion in lost opportunities every day. Despite these alarming facts, some politicians and business leaders have tried to spin the issue of traffic congestion as a sign of economic progress and development.

One of the ways that spin distorts the reality of traffic congestion in the Philippines is by presenting it as a positive indicator of economic growth and prosperity. For instance, Joey Concepcion III, a member of President Bongbong Marcos’s Private Sector Advisory Council, claimed that “there’s traffic all over the world in areas that the economy is really doing well”. This spin is false or misleading for several reasons.

First, traffic congestion is NOT a sign of economic progress as shown in Table 1. Based on the GDP per capita metric, the Philippines is far behind among the ASEAN countries in the global ranking. What’s more, for the Quality of Life metric, the Philippines is hanging limply at the back of its ASEAN neighbors. Having the worst traffic situation in the ASEAN region and 10^th worst in the world, put a stop to Concepcion’s spin.

Table1. GDP per capita, Quality of Life, & Traffic

	Singapore	Malaysia	Thailand	Indo	Vietnam	PH
GDP per capita, PPP*	108,036	28,315	17,507	12,410	11,396	8,582
Global Rank	3	55	74	97	102	115
Quality of Life**	153	123	81	74	101	45
Global Rank	103	170	227	231	208	242
Traffic Index**	149	193	213	250	106	253
Global Ranking	100	42	25	12	165	10

* Purchasing Power Parity, The World Bank, 2022

** Numbeo, 2023

Table notes:

The following cities where Quality of Life & Traffic Index were measured: Singapore, Singapore; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Manila, Philippines.

Second, traffic congestion has negative impacts on the environment, public health, productivity, and quality of life of millions of commuters and residents as shown in Table 2:

Table 2. Quality of life in the Philippines (Numbeo, 2023)

Purchasing Power	Very Low
Safety	Moderate
Health Care	High
Climate Index	High
Cost of Living	Very Low
Property Price to Income Ratio	Very High
Traffic Commute Time	High
Pollution	High
QUALITY of LIFE INDEX	Very Low

 

Third, traffic congestion drives away foreign investors who are looking for ease of doing business in their potential markets as shown in Table 3 showcased by the Philippines falling behind the ASEAN pack with its corresponding lowermost Foreign Direct Investment.

Table 3. Top ASEAN Countries Ranking in Ease of Doing Business with their corresponding Foreign Direct Invest (FDI) Inflows (World Bank, 2022)

	Sing	Malay	Thai	Viet	Indo	PH
World Rank	2	12	21	70	73	95
FDI, in US$M	140,844	15,114	10,046	15,660	21,652	9,200

 

To sum up, as the above tables show, the Philippines has the lowest GDP per capita, quality of life index, and foreign direct investment among the ASEAN countries. This contradicts the spin that traffic congestion is a sign of economic progress and development. Traffic congestion is one of the factors that contributes to the poor performance of the Philippines in these indicators, as it reduces the efficiency, competitiveness, and attractiveness of the country as a market and destination.

When I got to this point writing this piece, I felt so weary that I asked Bing my AI-powered co-pilot to give me 3 short jokes to wrap up this article. Well, they jazzed up my day. I hope they'll make yours too.

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it was faster than taking the car.

How do you know when the traffic is really bad? When the GPS says, “In 400 feet, turn left, and walk.”

How do you avoid traffic in the Philippines? You don’t. You just learn to love it.

That reminds me of the tourism slogan “Love the Philippines”. Amid its controversy, the Department of Tourism issued recently this press release: “Love the Philippines” stays until further notice.

Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft Bing AI-powered co-pilot

Head photo courtesy of Car Guide PH

Video clips courtesy of YouTube