Number coding still suspended on first week of June — MMDA spox

Traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) monitor the vehicles passing along Edsa in this 2018 file photo. INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines —  The number coding scheme for private and public vehicles will remain suspended on the first week of June as the general community quarantine (GCQ) takes effect, the spokesperson of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Saturday.

“Lifted pa rin ang number coding next week. Huwag na sila mag-alala  kung sila ay number coding hindi muna i-implement yung modified coding next week,” MMDA spokeswoman Celine Pialago said over DWIZ when asked about their preparations for the GCQ.

(Number coding is still lifted next week. The public should not worry if their vehicle is under number coded as the modified coding will still not be implemented next week.)

Pialago said they will advise motorists if the suspension of the number coding scheme will be extended in the second week of June.

“Kung ang tanong nila kung lifted next week, ‘how about sa second week of June?’ So magaadvise po kami,” she said.

(If they will ask if it is still lifted next week, how about in the second week of June? So we will advise.)

The MMDA previously said it will enforce a modified number coding scheme once Metro Manila transitions from a modified enhanced community quarantine to a GCQ starting June 1.

The MMDA said depending on the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases guidelines, vehicles carrying more than one passenger will be exempted from the existing unified vehicular volume reduction program or number coding in Metro Manila. According to the MMDA, the modified number coding scheme aims to maximize a vehicle’s seating capacity.

The number coding scheme has been suspended since March 13 after President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila under a community quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease.

On Thursday, Duterte placed Metro Manila under the less stringent GCQ from June 1 to June 15. Under a GCQ,  road, rail, maritime, and the aviation sectors of public transportation will be allowed to operate at a reduced capacity.