Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, head of the NCRPO (Photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Motorists and commuters need not worry about being inconvenience in traffic jams and road closures as there will be no lockdown on major roads in Metro Manila during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit that starts on Wednesday (April 26).
Officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) made this assurance during a news briefing at the command center for Asean security.
Director Oscar Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the decision not to implement a traffic lockdown came from President Rodrigo Duterte, who said he would not want to inconvenience commuters.
“Mahigpit na order ng Presidente ito dahil ayaw niyang maabala ang commuting public dahil na-experience niya to siguro when he was still a mayor,” Albayalde said.
(“This is a strict order from the President because he doesn’t want to inconvenience the communting public because he probably experienced this when he was still a mayor.”)
Charlito Plaza of the MMDA Traffic Enforcement Division said a lockdown was only implemented in some areas where most of the Asean meetings would take place, according to the the instructions of the Presidential Security Group (PSG).
This includes the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex, Harbor Square, the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), and the areas near Sofitel Manila and Diokno Avenue.
Plaza said the lockdown had taken effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday and would be in place until until Saturday (April 29).
Major roads, such as Roxas Boulevard and Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue, will be open to traffic during the entire time of the summit.
“When you say lockdown, the roads within the area are totally closed to motorists and pedestrians,” Albayalde clarified. “Establishments and restaurants inside the area are also closed.”
Instead of a lockdown, Albayalde said they would enforce a stop-and-go scheme when the Asean leaders start arriving in the country on Thursday.
“Walang lockdown but there will be stop-and-go. Kapag lalabas na ‘yung leaders, the traffic will be momentarily stopped for five to 10 minutes,” he said.
Some of the delegates are billeted at the Shangri-la Hotel and Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati. The rest of them will stay in hotels in Manila and Pasay.
The officials added that there would be no disruption of phone signals during the four-day event.
“There’s no need for such effort but we’ll look into the situation as it goes but most likely walang signal jamming,” Albayalde said. /atm