The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has extended the duty hours of traffic discipline personnel to intensify their visibility along major roads this Christmas season.
MMDA Acting Chairman Romando Artes said the adjustment to the traffic personnel’s work schedules was made in response to the new operating hours of malls in Metro Manila.
Beginning Nov. 14, malls in Metro Manila started operating from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in preparation for the Christmas season.
The new mall hours will be in effect until Jan. 6.
Artes instructed traffic enforcers to avoid grouping and the unnecessary use of cell phones while on duty for better traffic management.
“Our primary duty and priority is to manage traffic first before apprehending erring motorists. We don’t allow the practice of waiting for motorists to violate traffic rules before flagging them down,” he said.
“However, to avoid impeded traffic flow, minor violations like swerving could be exempted on a case-to-case basis except for distracted driving and number coding,” he added. John Ezekiel J. Hirro