THE METRO Manila Council (MMC) on Tuesday, Oct. 5, has disregard proposals by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for a twice-a-week number-coding scheme as well as the plan for a one-way traffic policy on the EDSA beltway.

“Lahat po ng pinresent natin na volume reductions program, hindi po naaprubahan ’yun (Everything we presented on the volume reduction program was not approved),” MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said when sought for comment, confirming the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting by the MMC, which includes Metro Manila’s mayors.

The meeting presided over by MMDA Chairman Danilo D. Lim was attended, among others, by Mayors Imelda Aguilar of Las Piñas, Herbert Bautista of Quezon City, Edwin Olivarez of Parañaque, Miguel Ponce of Pateros, and John Rey Tiangco of Navotas City.

“Ang potensyal ngayon ay ’yung carpooling, So ‘yung carpooling naglabas po tayo ng sample guidelines sa mayors,” Ms. Pialago said. (The potential now is carpooling. We’ve come up with sample guidelines for the mayors.)

The only challenge in the program, according to Ms. Pialago, is enforcers have the authority to inspect vehicles in order to identify the number of passengers inside.

“Kasi base sa datos ng MMDA traffic engineering, 78% ng dumadaan sa EDSA mag-isa lang sa sasakyan. So, we are encouraging the public to carpool,” she said.

Under the current number-coding scheme, vehicles are by turns prohibited only once a week: license plates ending in 1 and 2 on Mondays; 3 and 4 on Tuesdays; 5 and 6 on Wednesdays; and 7 and 8 on Fridays. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

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