The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Saturday said it will allow motorcades and other street rallies related to the upcoming May 2022 elections even before the start of the official campaign period for national candidates in February.
MMDA general manager Don Artes said he finds no premature campaigning in the series of caravans and other political activities being made by presidential candidates even such events can cause traffic on major thoroughfares.
“Even the Comelec sees no problem with that. Based on their regulation, there is no premature campaigning there. The candidates didn’t ask the people to vote for them during those rallies. What they are doing in those rallies is part of (our) freedom of expression,” said Artes.
“On the part of MMDA, what we are doing is to regulate them on how not to obstruct traffic and affect our motorists,” he added.
Artes made the statement as the MMDA was preparing for this (Sunday) morning scheduled motorcade of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte that will affect streets and major roads in cities of Pasay, Makati, and Quezon City.
The MMDA expects the event will be attended by at least 300,000 individuals.
Artes said they will penalize event organizers if they are caught violating guidelines set by the MMDA for motorcades and other street campaign rallies.
“We will issue citation tickets for road obstruction for the organizers and also jaywalking for the crowd that will cause traffic,” said Artes.
The MMDA stated that organizers must secure a permit from the agency and local government units before they conduct rallies.
It also stated that organizers must follow the guidelines during the conduct of the event, which include the no stopping/parking policy, no bicycle and tricycle along major roads, wearing of helmet for riders, and the practice of health protocols such as wearing of face mask and the physical distancing rule.
The MMDA also appealed to candidates to conduct big rallies during weekends and holidays only.
Today’s motorcade organizers are headed by Jonathan Bocaling and Romeo Poquiz, chairman and ground commander of BBM-Sara 2.0 Mega Christmas Caravan, respectively. Organizers promised that they will follow regulations and that they will police their people to avoid any inconvenience on the road.
Porquiz said they will also ask the candidates not to give or throw shirts, candies, and other ‘goodies’ to avoid crowds that make unnecessary stopping of the motorcade and cause road traffic.
“We will ask our principals to provide security officers to emphasize the throwing of campaign goodies,” he said.
In its initial advisory, the MMDA announced the official route of the motorcade caravan:
Assembly Area 1 Kalaw Avenue (Rizal Park area, Manila City Hall, Quiapo Church, Espana St. then Quezon Avenue, Elliptical Road, Quezon City ), and
Assembly Area 2 PITX (Roxas Boulevard, Buendia Avenue, Edsa turn right at East Avenue to Elliptical Road, then Quezon Avenue, turn left to Edsa going back to Macapagal Avenue).
Based on the roadway private utilization permit issued by the MMDA, there shall be no road closure and usual traffic flow must be followed during the conduct of motorcade caravan.
The MMDA advised motorists to take alternate routes to avoid inconvenience during the event.
Marcos earlier apologized to motorists, commuters, and other parties affected by the traffic congestion caused by their first motorcade that happened in Quezon City.
In the 2013 midterm elections, campaign rallies and motorcades were prohibited in 22 major thoroughfares in the National Capital Region.
The areas covered by the ban were the following: Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, Circumferential Road – 5, Quezon Avenue, Marcos Highway, Commonwealth Avenue, España Boulevard, E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue, Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, President Quirino Avenue, Aurora Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue, Shaw Boulevard, MIA Road, Domestic Road, Andrews Avenue, South Super Highway, Taft Avenue, Roxas Boulevard, Araneta Avenue, A.H. Lacson Street, Rizal Avenue, and A. Bonifacio Avenue.
While on secondary roads or non-major thoroughfares, the MMDA resolution required candidates and all political parties to notify the MMDA three days before the rally and motorcades.
The move came to prevent gridlock during peak hours in Metro Manila.
Then Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said regulating campaign rallies was part of the commission’s mandate, especially since the critical roads where rallies were to be banned were perennial problem areas due to the large volume of vehicles plying them. He said violators would be charged with an election offense.