MANILA, Philippines — To prevent traffic jams across the metropolis this Christmas season, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will enforce measures to ease road congestion from Nov. 17 until Dec. 25, the MMDA said yesterday.
MMDA Chairman Romando Artes met with other government officials and shopping mall representatives to discuss measures that may affect their operations during the Yuletide season.
It was agreed that shopping malls in Metro Manila will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and prohibited from organizing mall-wide sale events on those days.
Deliveries by shopping mall operators should be done between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following day, also on weekdays.
The MMDA will also suspend roadworks, including “right-of-way excavation activities, road reblocking works, pipe-laying, road upgrading and other excavation works that may hinder or disrupt the smooth flow of traffic.”
However, the “flagship projects of the government, bridge repair and construction projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, flood interceptor catchment projects, emergency leak repair and others” are exempted from this rule, the MMDA said.
Artes said the measures proved effective in managing road traffic conditions in Metro Manila in previous holiday seasons, during which vehicular traffic typically increases by 10 to 25 percent.
Provincial buses will be allowed to enter Metro Manila until New Year’s Day.
Buses from the north should stop at terminals in Cubao, Quezon City while those from the south should end their trips at terminals in Pasay City or at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange or PITX.
Buses can enter Metro Manila from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Dec. 20 and at all hours from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2, 2026.
The MMDA plans to ask the Department of Transportation and transport groups as well as the operators of the EDSA bus carousel, Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit lines to consider extending their operating hours.
Artes said the no-contact apprehension policy and road-clearing operations would remain in place to help decongest roads and “improve traffic discipline.”