Coding stays in Makati

Even as the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has announced that the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) will be lifted during the summer months, Makati City will not lift its own number coding scheme.

"We don’t think it’s possible to do that here. It’s very unlikely," Department of Public Safety (DPS) chief Herminigildo San Miguel told The Star yesterday.

San Miguel explained that Makati City cannot lift the UVVRP even for at least the next two months as there are very few schools in the city and vehicle volume will not drastically go down if the coding scheme is lifted.

He also noted that traffic in Makati City is bad both on weekdays and on weekends when the UVVRP is not implemented.

"Congested lahat halos eh except for those roads sa medyo malalayong barangay. Kahit Sabado grabe eh (All roads are congested except in remote barangays even on Saturdays)," he said.

San Miguel said areas covered by the Centtral Business District (CBD), the South Superhighway, Makati Avenue, and J.P. Rizal have the worst traffic situations.

He said lifting the UVVRP in Makati City in summer will do the city no good.

San Miguel, the DES, and the city’s Traffic Task Force will forward their recommendations to Mayor Jejomar Binay, who has the last say in local policies.

"We will still observe (the number coding scheme) pero siguro, mga 90 percent na imposible na alisin natin yung coding," he told The Star.

Makati City is implementing the UVVRP as a local traffic law and is not even implementing "window" hours like the MMDA.

The number coding scheme in the city works the same way as the one being implemented all over Metro Manila where the last number of a vehicle’s license plate determines which day the vehicle is banned from using roads and streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando on Wednesday announced that the Metro Mayor’s Council (MMC) will be coming up with a resolution that wouldlift the UVVRP for at least two months since vehicle volume usually decreases during the summer break.

Local chief executives, however, will be given the option to request for its re-implementation in their respective locality if the traffic worsens.