The number coding scheme for private and public vehicles in Metro Manila has been lifted, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokeswoman Celine Pialago announced today.
Pialago posted a message on her Facebook page this morning, in which she wrote: “Just In: Number coding (Private and Public vehicles) is now lifted starting this hour until further notice.”
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The coding scheme aims to reduce the number of vehicles on Metro Manila’s roads by allowing them to travel only on certain days of the week based on the last number on their license plates.
MMDA’s suspension of the scheme comes after President Rodrigo Duterte announced last night a one-month lockdown (or “community quarantine”) on Metro Manila, prohibiting land, domestic air, and domestic sea travel to and from the area, which is home to about 13 million people. The lockdown was ordered to stem the spread of COVID-19, which has sickened 52 and killed five people in the Philippines.
Despite the lockdown, the railways that travel within the metro — the LRT, MRT and the Philippine National Railways — will continue to operate, but the Transport Department said they will ensure that there is enough distance in between passengers to stem the spread of COVID-19. (Uhhhh, good luck with that.)
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