MANILA, Philippines —  The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has ordered the removal of obstructions at the ground level of three flyovers in EDSA.

On Tuesday (June 8), MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos inspected the ground sections of flyovers in EDSA-Kamuning, Timog and Quezon Avenue.

This prompted the official to immediately order the clearing of all types of clutter and obstructions, including illegally-parked and abandoned vehicles, mostly involved in accidents in the said areas.

“Hindi pwedeng gamiting impounding ito. This is a national highway. Kalye ito. Maski sino, bawal gumamit nito. We will coordinate with the proper authorities on this matter,” Abalos stressed.

“No parking” and tow away signages will be placed in the said areas, he added.

He also appealed to the vehicle owners to refrain from parking at the ground level of flyovers, saying these should be open spaces.

“I will make sure that violators will be sanctioned and issued violation tickets for illegal parking,” Abalos said.

Meanwhile, the MMDA chief also instructed the heads of Metro Parkways Clearing Group (MPCG) and Road Emergency Group (REG) to remove unnecessary MMDA equipment in the said areas.

“The equipment that the MMDA is utilizing for emergency purposes will be retained, but not this much. Further, we will identify strategic locations to relocate the remaining equipment. MMDA should set an example here,” Abalos reiterated.

Discarded damaged orange barriers will be disposed of as garbage, while broken concrete barriers will be smashed and will be used as filling materials at the MMDA Tumana impounding area in Marikina.

The MMDA chief clarified that this directive is applicable to all areas within the jurisdiction of MMDA and not on EDSA alone.

The move is in line with the agency’s drive against urban decay and to ensure orderliness and cleanliness in the metropolis.

MANILA, Philippines — Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. reminds religious leaders to strictly observe the 30 percent seating capacity in their premises as allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

During the Laging Handa briefing on Monday (May 24), Abalos confirmed that all Metro Manila Mayors agreed on the further relaxing restrictions on religious gatherings since COVID-19 cases are slowing down in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“Nag-meeting po ang mga alkalde ng kalakhang Maynila at talagang unanimous [ang desisyon nila]. Out of 17 city mayors, lahat po ay pumayag sa 30%,” he said.

Abalos, however, stressed that this doesn’t mean that the government will be complacent when it comes to implementing the safety health protocols.

“Wawarningan po sila na huwag silang lumabag. Huwag na sana tayong umabot pa sa mga sinasabing violations. Siguro naman ito ay maidadaan sa maayos na dialogue between LGU and simbahan,” he said.

From May 15 to 31, Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal known as the NCR Plus are under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions.

Given this, the national government adjusted religious gatherings from 10 percent to 30 percent venue capacity.

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has announced the hiring of 300 traffic auxiliaries to augment the traffic management efforts in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares.

“We need additional traffic enforcers to improve our traffic management efforts,” MMDA Chairperson Benhur Abalos said.

The official added that the first batch of trainees have undergone RT-PCR swab test and all have tested negative for COVID-19 for everyone’s safety in the workplace.

According to the MMDA, the newly-hired auxiliaries will undergo 15-day training that will cover topics such as academic and non-academic traffic management, physical training, traffic rules and regulations, values formation, human rights, and personality development.

Those who will pass the training will be deployed along EDSA and key areas in Metro Manila to complement the existing manpower of the agency.

Recently, Abalos met with the officials of the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) to discuss issues concerning traffic management in the National Capital Region NCR).