MMDA ready to help HPG on Edsa

With the help of miniature vehicles and road signs, members of the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group map out their game plan to restore order on Edsa starting Monday, Sept. 7, 2015.  MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Francis Tolentino said Saturday that the agency was ready to help out the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) as it takes over traffic management on  Edsa starting Monday.

“I certainly welcome [the] HPG [as it takes] the lead in managing Edsa. It’s all about cooperation among government agencies to better supervise vehicular flow on the busiest route in Metro Manila,” Tolentino said in a statement on Saturday.

According to him, the MMDA has been “trying (its) best to manage traffic on Edsa especially during rush hour through various schemes,” a goal made more difficult by the increasing number of vehicles using the thoroughfare.

Upon the order of President Aquino, the PNP-HPG will be in charge of directing traffic on Edsa starting Monday, particularly along six choke-points: Balintawak, Cubao, Ortigas, Shaw Boulevard, Guadalupe and Taft Avenue.

Chief Supt. Arnold Gunnacao, PNP-HPG chief, said around 150 personnel would be deployed for this purpose, adding that the MMDA personnel providing them support would be under his “operational supervision.”

According to Tolentino, the MMDA “will be on hand to assist the PNP-HPG in vehicular accidents or cases of stalled vehicles.”

“Our MMDA personnel will always be there to help the HPG. The President’s vision is to ease traffic on EDSA and the MMDA fully supports his directive,” he said as he appealed for the public’s cooperation.–Kristine Felisse Mangunay