Number coding stays in Makati on April 19, 20

Unlike in the rest of Metro Manila, the number coding scheme will remain in effect in Makati City on Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday (April 19 and 20). The Makati City government said April 19 to 20 are still considered regular working days where traffic is not expected to lighten. "As a policy, Makati lifts the number coding scheme on official holidays and weekends only. With an average of over 700,000 vehicles passing through the city roads on weekdays, suspending the (Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program) on Tuesday and Wednesday will only worsen traffic situation in the city," Makati Public Safety chief Hermenegildo San Miguel said in a news release posted on the city's web portal. Earlier, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority — which also covers Makati City — said it will lift the number coding scheme from Holy Tuesday to Good Friday (April 19 to 22). Under the number coding scheme, vehicles are banned from plying major roads in Metro Manila on certain days, depending on the last number of their license plates. In Makati, San Miguel noted vehicles with plate numbers ending in 3 and 4 are barred from city roads from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, and plate numbers ending in 5 and 6 on Wednesdays. Makati also noted it does not observe the MMDA's time window of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. But San Miguel clarified that motorists covered by the scheme can pass through national roads in Makati that include C-5, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and Sen. Sergio Osmeña Highway. San Miguel also reminded motorists to obey the city’s traffic rules because these will be strictly enforced by the Department of Public Safety, the Makati Police and deputized barangay traffic enforcers. — RSJ, GMA News