By Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan
MANILA, (PNA) — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Sunday advised commutters and motorists to take alternative routes in Metro Manila on Monday during the event of the Iglesia ni Cristo.
The MMDA said some two million people are expected to take part in the religious group’s medical and dental mission.
MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said participants will come from five ecclesiastical districts of Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan, and that most of them will be transported by around 5,000 buses.
In its Twitter account, MMDA said that some major roads will be closed due to the medical and dental mission by the religious group in various places in Manila.
The closed roads from Sunday (Oct. 13) 1 p.m. to Monday (Oct. 14) 7 p.m. were the following:
1. PLaza del Carmen Area
– S.H. Loyola St. / C.M. Recto Avenue
– G. Puyat St. / Quezon Blvd.
– Hidalgo St. / Carcer St.
– C. Aguila St. / P. del Carmen St.
– C. Aguila St. / Nepomuceno St.
– Legarda St. / San Rafael St.
2. C.M. Recto (Isetann) Eastbound area
– Service Rd. of Q. Blvd. Northbound going to C.M. Recto
– Eastbound Lane of C.M. Recto from Rizal Avenue to Nicanor Reyes
3. Quinta Market Area
– Stretch of Palanca St. from P. Casal to Quiapo Ilalim (Quinta Market)
4. Post Office Area
– Magallanes Drive Ext. both lanes from Postal Rd. to McArthur Bridge
To avoid being caught in traffic, the MMDA advised motorists to take alternative routes:
From Manila to Quezon City:
Take Taft ave, right or left turn at UN Ave., left turn to Otis, left turn to Nagtahan to destination.
From Quezon City to Manila:
1. Take Espana, right to Lacson, Tayuman left turn to Jose Abad Santos, Regin Regente, Juan Luna, Plaza Cervantes, Jones Bridge, P Burgos to destination.
2. Take Espana, left turn to Lacson, Nagtahan, right to Otis, right to UN Ave to destination.
From Caloocan:
Rizal ave., right to Tayuman, left to Jose Abad Santos , Regin Regente, Juan Luna, Plaza Cervantes, Jones Bridge to destination.
From Luneta to Caloocan:
Take Jones Bridge, Quintin Paredes, Regina Regente, Jose Abad Santos, Rizal Ave to destination.
From Divisoria to Cubao via Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard:
Take CM Recto, left turn to Jose Abad Santos, right turn to Tayuman, Lacson, right to Earnshaw, left at Legarda, to Legarda-Nagtahan flyover to destination.
From Cubao to Divisoria:
Take Ramon Magsaysay Blvd, Nagtahan flyover, Legarda, right at Earnshaw, left at Lacson. Tayuman, left to Jose Abad Santos, left to destination.
From Divisoria to Cubao:
Take CM Recto, left at Jose Abad Santos, right at Tayuman, Lacson, right to Earnshaw, left at Legarda, Nagtahan flyover to destination.
MMDA has also designated the following as parking areas for motorists attending the event:
For those going Plaza del Carmen, it is the stretch of Palanca St. (both sides)
For Plaza Avelino: stretch of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard (both sides) and stretch of A. Lacson (both sides)
For Magallanes Drive Ext. (facing post office): stretch of P. Burgos (both sides), stretch of Bonifacio Drive (both sides) and stretch of TM Kalaw (both sides).For Quinta Market: Both sides of Quezon Boulevard (both sides).
At the back of FEU, along CM Recto: stretch of CM Recto (both sides) and Quezon Boulevard (both sides).
Tolentino said the MMDA has asked employers to adopt a “Floating Holiday” scheme.
“Ibig sabihin po ng floating holiday dahil wala naman deklarang holiday maliban sa lungsod ng Maynila bigyan ng puwang ng mga employer yung kanilang mga empleyado ang konsepto kasi ng floating holiday to go an indication for a day with pay possible by religious belief,” Tolentino explained.
With this floating holiday, he said that if the employer agree with this condition it will ease this kind of traffic experience by their employees.
Tolentino added that the agency still implement the number coding and advised the motorists to stay away from roads of Manila.
The MMDA chief also said he has asked DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to extend the operations of Light and Metro Rail Transit systems.
Tolentino also said that DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro announced that ‘All classes for elementary and high school levels, public and private are suspended on Monday, (October 14), for the following cities:
1. Manila (including college level)
2. Quezon City
3. Caloocan
4. Pasig
5. Pasay
6. Makati
7. Mandaluyong
8. Taguig
9. Paranaque
10. Pateros
11. San Juan
12. Muntinlupa
13. Valenzuela
The following cities will have normal schedules on Monday are the cities of Marikina, Las Pinas, Malabon and Navotas.