All obstruction to be removed from EDSA starting Nov. 1 – Almendras

MANILA, Philippines — Starting next month (Nov. 1) until January 2, 2016, teams composed of personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local government units and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group will clear Edsa and Mabuhay Lanes of “all forms of obstruction.”

“So sorry (pasensyahan tayo), but this is a response to the complaints of our people, for some, a cry for help for government to come to their aid because Edsa and the streets of Metro Manila have come to symbolize the horrors of congested roads, traffic moving at a snail’s pace or even stops to a standstill,” Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said in a statement issued on Thursday.

All motor vehicles parked on Mabuhay or Christmas lanes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., during the period of Nov. 1 to Jan. 2, will be towed and violators apprehended and meted out “with corresponding fines and penalties,” according to Almendras.

These Christmas lanes include parts of West Avenue, Quezon Avenue, Mindanao Ave., and Commonwealth Ave., among others.

Effective Nov. 1, ambulant vendors towing their “karitons” or pushcarts will not be allowed on Edsa, with their wares to be confiscated under existing LGU ordinances if they refuse to cooperate.

“We will be strictly implementing ‘no ambulant vendors along Edsa’ po. We will confiscate their goods….Don’t sell on Edsa. This will include carollers and mendicants who beg along Edsa because this slows down and stops vehicles,” Almendras said in a press conference after a traffic meeting at the MMDA headquarters Wednesday afternoon.

Almendras said apart from these measures, some U-turn slots that “have been found to be unnecessary” along Edsa would be closed.

The statement did not say, however, which U-turn slots would be closed.

The PNP-HPG has been tapped to continue manning traffic along EDSA, until June 30, 2016, he said. –Kristine Felisse Mangunay, SFM