THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has mobilized its Motorist Assistance Teams to aid motorists and commuters during the Lenten season.
At the same time, South Luzon tollways operators vowed to make Holy Week vehicular traffic smoothly flowing and safe.
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said he has “directed all Regional and District Engineering Offices nationwide to reactivate the Lakbay-Alalay Program from April 10 to 17.”
Uniformed motorist assistance teams will provide personal and prompt assistance on normal and emergency situations in strategic locations along major highways on a round-the-clock shift.
They were ordered to coordinate with the Land Transportation Office, the National Police, local governments and other government agencies for any assistance that may be required.
Prior to the Holy Week, the DPWH Maintenance Teams were deployed all over the country to ensure that national roads are well-maintained and free from potholes, have reflectorized pavement markings and have legible kilometer posts and directional signs.
Roads with ongoing construction works were also checked to make sure proper warning signs are installed, especially those that lead to major public cemeteries.
In the Bicol region, maintenance engineers were also instructed to install traffic advisories on alternate routes to bypass areas that have ongoing projects.
DPWH Region 5 Director Danilo E. Versola reported that a total of 31 Motorist Assistance Centers will be set up along strategic areas of the national road in the Bicol region, consisting of 12 in the mainland provinces or from Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon; and 19 in the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.
South tollways ready
HOLY Week traffic on the South Luzon tollways, meanwhile, is expected to increase 12 percent more than the usual daily average of 330,000 vehicles that run to and from places and provinces south of Metro Manila.
The Skyway O&M Corp. (Somco), Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. (Mates) and Star Tollway Corp. (STC), operators of the Skyway-Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (Naiax), South Luzon Expressway System (Slex) and Star Tollway, respectively, will exert added effort to keep traffic moving and motorists safe at all possible times.
Southbound traffic on said toll roads will peak on April 12, 13 and 15 (Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Black Saturday) and northbound traffic on April 16 and 17 (Easter Sunday and Easter Monday) on return trip to Metro Manila.
The South Luzon tollway operators will implement Oplan Ligtas Biyahe: Semana Santa 2017, in coordination with the National Police’s Highway Patrol Group, the Toll Regulatory Board, other concerned government agencies and local governments.
At the Skyway System, southbound motorists are advised to use the elevated toll road instead of the at-grade Nichols and C-5 entry plazas where traffic volume is high. On the northbound direction, the Skyway Main, the old Naiax, C-5 Exit, Nichols and Sucat are, likewise traffic-heavy.
At Slex, the southbound toll plazas with high traffic volume are Calamba Main, Greenfield-TR3, Santa Rosa, Eton and Carmona; while the NB toll plazas are Calamba Main, Greenfield-TR3 and Filinvest.
At Star Tollway, heavy but manageable traffic is expected at some toll plazas and stretches of the expressway. To ease the congestion on the SB Ibaan-San Jose toll exit caused by the increased traffic demand and the temporary closure of Sabang Bridge, exiting Class 1 vehicles (cars-jeeps) will use Ibaan-San Jose NB exit and SB entry while Class 2 and Class 3 (buses and trucks) will take the regular SB toll exit. Motorists returning to Manila on April 16 and 17 are forewarned of heavy-traffic situation at major toll plazas, like Santo Tomas exit, Lipa-Tambo entry and the Ibaan-San Jose interchange.
Adequate number of ambulant tellers will be posted round the clock on busy toll plazas to speed up toll payment transactions and help ease the flow of traffic. Additional on-call ambulant tellers will immediately be deployed where and when needed.
QC imposes tight security
QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista has placed on alert all police, traffic, rescue and barangay personnel to ensure the orderly and peaceful observance of the Holy Week in the city.
Bautista’s directive calls for heightened police visibility in all bus terminals and other passenger-holding areas in the city, including terminals of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), to deter criminal activities and other lawless acts.
To secure bus terminals and MRT stations, the Quezon City Police District was ordered to set up police assistance centers and conduct round the clock foot, mobile and motorcycle patrols.
Bautista also ordered the deployment of patrol cars at residential areas and in places holding “cenaculo and “pabasa.”
The Mayor said the 50 patrol cars acquired recently by the city government for the QCPD can be used for this purpose.
Even with the heightened police visibility, the nayor said it is imperative for city residents to observe extra-precautionary measures for their personal security and safety especially if they go out-of-town during the Holy Week.
The Mayor also instructed the QC department of public order and safety to coordinate closely with the QCPD for the Holy Week security and law enforcement operations.
The city’s rescue team, on the other hand, has been mobilized to respond to any emergency situation that may arise during the Lenten season.
The Mayor has also enlisted the support of the city’s barangay security development officers in the peace and order effort.