THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Friday stated that ambulant and street vendors are also covered by its new policy prohibiting the taking of shelter under footbridges and flyovers during heavy downpour.
Meanwhile, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has sought the assistance of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to provide temporary shelters to street individuals and families who are most vulnerable to inclement weather.
“The vendors, we are going after them because they have no permits to do it (illegal vending) in any public spaces. That is really prohibited,” said MMDA Traffic Enforcement Group chief Victor Nuñez.
“One of our departments monitors and operates against illegal vendors,” he added.
The MMDA at present operates against illegally parked vehicles and vendors in line with the government’s campaign to clear the streets and sidewalks of all obstructions to further ease traffic flow in the metropolis.
The agency on Aug. 1 started penalizing motorcycle riders using footbridges and flyovers as shelters during heavy downpour. During the first day of implementation, nine riders were caught, issued citation tickets, and fined P1,000 each for road obstruction along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).
The MMDA issued the order following a meeting with representatives of motorcycle ride-hailing firms – Grab, Angkas, Joyride, Toktok, Transportify, Maxim Riders Food Delivery, and Move It at the agency’s main office in Pasig City.
MMDA officials said they understand the plight of motorcycle riders who have to find shelter and wait for the rain to stop. They, however, explained that taking shelter underneath the footbridges and flyovers, occupying two to three lanes, is dangerous and causes traffic, especially when there is zero visibility on the road.
The MMDA was also planning to meet with gasoline station operators about installing tents in their EDSA branches that could serve as shelter for the riders.
The gas station operators initially expressed support to the MMDA initiative to put up tents on their premises to provide temporary shelters for riders during rains.
“The shelter assistance is intended for individuals under the Oplan Pag-Abot program, specifically those who do not have a place to stay
in their respective provinces after having been shunned by their families,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“As we scale up the DSWD Pag-Abot Program, we are working with the DHSUD to temporarily shelter the reached-out individuals,” he added.
Gatchalian met with Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar to discuss the type of housing units to be provided as temporary shelters
for the street people even as DSWD social workers process their return to their respective provinces.
Gatchalian and Acuzar were set to sign a memorandum of understanding to formalize the partnership between their respective agencies.
The Oplan Pag-Abot program, launched on July 3, aims to assist the street people and provide them with the necessary and appropriate interventions to address their immediate and long-term needs.
As of the end of July, 38 families composed of 113 minors and 111 adults have been assisted by the DSWD under the program.
As part of their support to the project, representatives of the local government units, the MMDA, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) joined DSWD social workers during the reach-out operations.