Sotto, Recto welcome suspension of Edsa ban on ‘singles’

Traffic congestion along Edsa —INQUIRER PHOTO/RICHARD A. REYES

“We’re thankful. As many motorists will be thankful.”

This was how Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III welcomed on Friday the decision of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to temporarily suspend the full implementation of the driver-only vehicle ban on Edsa.

READ: HOV scheme’s full implementation on Edsa suspended for now

The new scheme, which bans driver-only vehicles on Edsa during rush hours, was set to go full blast on August 23 or after a weeklong dry-run that started last Wednesday.

“Once they clear the city streets of Metro Manila of parked vehicles then they can try implementing that,” Sotto added in a text message.

Like Sotto, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto also welcomed the suspension of the scheme.

“That’s good news,” Recto said in a separate text message.

“If their objective is to have carpooling, then they can create a car pool lane. But don’t ban single drivers. That’s unfair. I am glad they stopped implementation,” he said.

Sotto and Recto were two of four senators who initiated a resolution, urging the MMDA to suspend the ban on Edsa. The two others were Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

The resolution was later adopted by the Senate and a copy of it was sent to MMDA.  /muf – By: Maila Ager