MMDA Announces ASEAN Summit Rerouting Scheme

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) released a rerouting plan to accommodate the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit which the country will host from April 26 to 29.

On the MMDA’s Twitter account, the agency posted that they will suspend the unified vehicular volume reduction program, more popularly known as the number coding scheme, on April 28, Friday. The suspension takes effect in all Metro Manila cities and municipalities, with the exemption of Makati and Las Piñas.

The ASEAN Summit rerouting plan

MMDA provided more details in their Facebook account, posting that the rerouting will be in full force along Sen. W. Diokno Blvd., Jalandoni St., V. Sotto St., Bukaneg St., and A. Dela Rama St. MMDA plans to implement the “stop and go” scheme on these streets, which means traffic will only be opened once the vehicles of the ASEAN leaders have passed. The MMDA also warned the public to expect occasional traffic disruption along Makati Avenue and Pasay Road, advising if motorists can find alternate routes, they should take it.

Additional instructions from the traffic authority as follows:

• Vehicles going northbound on Roxas Blvd. northbound must turn right at EDSA/Arnaiz/Buendia, left at Taft Avenue, then left at UN/ Finance Road.
• Vehicles going southbound on Roxas Blvd. must turn left at P. Burgos/Kalaw/UN, right at Taft Avenue, right at Buendia/ Edsa, then left at Roxas Blvd.
• Vehicles exiting Paseo going to Arnaiz must turn right to Benavidez St. where a counter-flow lane has been prepared. From there, vehicles must then take a right to Trasierra, then left to Gamboa and right to Rufino all the way to Pasong Tamo/Javier. Otherwise, they must take a U-turn to Amorsolo/Rufino then right to Fernando.
• Vehicles taking Esperanza St. must take Paseo right to Ayala towards EDSA, if the said road becomes saturated during the lock down.

About the ASEAN Summit

You may notice that much of the rerouting focuses on Roxas Blvd. That’s because the four-day summit takes place at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex in Pasay City, right in the heart of the lengthy Metro Manila artery.

The ASEAN leaders are set to meet on April 29 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) within the CCP complex. After the meet, participants will then take a two-hour rest at the Coconut Palace, still within CCP premises. They will then move to Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila for the gala dinner. Participants will then depart for their respective countries the following day.

Last week, the government declared the suspension of classes at all levels, along with work in both the private and public sector, on April 28. Additionally, work in government offices in Makati, Manila and Pasay are also suspended on April 27.