U-turn slots in QC, Makati to close starting Oct. 10

Motorists in Quezon City and Makati should start mapping out alternate routes with the complete or partial closure of several U-turn slots starting on Oct. 10. According to a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic advisory, two U-turn slots on C-5, the one on the southbound lane in the Eastwood area (in front of BMW) will be closed from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. while the one at the intersection of Katipunan and Boni Serrano Avenues will be closed from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Another U-turn slot on Quezon Avenue between Examiner and Scout Borromeo Streets will be permanently closed to traffic.

The MMDA also plans to close the U-turn slot on Edsa near Kalayaan flyover in front of Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said the closure of the U-turn slot on Quezon Avenue was based on the suggestion of the Quezon City government which conducted a study of traffic flow in the area.” (The city government) found out that the traffic volume near the U-turn slot was heavy especially during rush hours,” Tolentino said. Niña P. Calleja

Bystanders, cops save farmer from robbers

A group of bystanders and patrolling policemen saved a 30-year-old farmer from three robbers who pounced on him as soon as he got off a passenger bus in Quezon City around noon on Monday. Mario Esperanza, a farmer from Nueva Ecija, not only got back his gold necklace worth P10,000, the men who had victimized him were also arrested but not before they were beaten up by an angry mob. Case investigator SPO1 Tirso dela Cruz identified those arrested as Rolando Tanio, 22; Mark Jay Santiago, 19, and John Albert dela Serna, 24; all jobless and residents of Barangay San Isidro in Rodriguez, Rizal. Earlier, they held up Esperanza at knifepoint and took his necklace after he got off the bus stop at the corner of Edsa and West Avenue. Julie M. Aurelio