MMDA revives 30-minute ‘heatstroke break’

Traffic enforcers and street sweepers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be getting an additional 30-minute “heatstroke break” between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day to help them cope with the summer heat.

In a statement on Monday, MMDA Chair Danilo Lim said the revived policy, which would be in effect until May 31, was aimed at protecting duty field workers from heat-related illnesses.

Each one would get a 30-minute break once a day, depending on their work hours. For example, MMDA traffic constables working from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. could take their heatstroke break from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., or between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

During these periods, they could leave their posts to let their bodies cool down.

“Heatstroke breaks shall be done alternately by those who are assigned [at] a particular area to maintain visibility of traffic enforcers and street sweepers and to ensure that field operations are not hampered,” Lim said.

In 2012, an on-duty traffic constable died due to heatstroke, prompting the MMDA to come up with the policy.