The government will set up a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC) at the Metrobase office of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on April 3 to ensure a peaceful and meaningful observance of the coming Holy Week or Semana Santa.
MACC will be composed of personnel from the MMDA, Department ofTransportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Inter-Agency Council for Traffic, Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police, and local government units.
The number-coding scheme in the National Capital Region will also be suspended from April 6 to 10, which are declared holidays, the MMDA said on Friday.
April 6 and 7 are Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, respectively. April10, meanwhile, has been declared as the Day of Valor, a regular holiday. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
The Philippine Coast Guard, meanwhile, vowed to go on heightened alert during the Holy Week to improve safety in the country’s ports and seaways.
PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said on Friday that from April 2 to 10 more security personnel, medical teams, harbor patrollers, and other response groups will be deployed to ports to assist passengers and to ensure safe sailing.
The Bureau of Immigration, meanwhile, has fielded 155 additional immigration officers to service arriving and departing passengers during the Holy Week.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said he ordered BI Terminal heads to ensure that all counters are fully manned during the peak season. They are assigned to different offices of the Bureau and were temporarily deployed to render duties at the Clark International Airport and Terminals 1, 2, and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The BI projects that around 40,000 passengers will arrive and depart the country daily, starting next week.
The command center will monitor the actual status of major transport hubs, particularly bus terminals in the metropolis, from Holy Monday until April 6, Maundy Thursday, when an influx of passengers who will travel outside Metro Manila is expected.
MMDA chairman Romando Artes said MACC will give way to a faster and more coordinated traffic management response as the inter-agency task force monitors the status of key transport hubs and major roads through closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs).
“Through this inter-agency action center, we can monitor real-time updates on bus terminals across Metro Manila to ensure safer travel of the commuting public and orderly traffic flow in our roads as we observe the Holy Week,” he said.
