By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday made true to his word of suspending the odd-even scheme in the city on his first day in office.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on his first speech as mayor, July 01, 2019 at Pasig City Hall. (KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN)
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on his first speech as mayor, July 01, 2019 at Pasig City Hall. (KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a copy of the memorandum circular posted by ABS-CBN on its Twitter page signed by the new mayor on Monday, all enforcers and field personnel of key city government offices are directed “to observe a moratorium on the apprehension of violators of the Odd-Even Scheme.”
Sotto also signed his first executive order that mandates the creation of Traffic Management Task Force that will “conduct a rapid assessment of the offices and units managing traffic and regulating all modes of transport within the City of Pasig.” The task force, according to the order, will review and assess the effectivity of the scheme. The odd-even traffic scheme was in effect along Elisco Road, R. Jabson Street, San Guillermo Street, Sandoval Avenue, and F. Legaspi Road since its implementation in 2016. The scheme prohibits four-wheeled vehicles with license plates ending with even numbers to pass the selected roads every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. While on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, vehicles with license plates ending with odd numbers are not allowed to use the thoroughfare. Days after the 30-year-old Sotto won the election, he earlier expressed his intention of suspending the traffic coding scheme in a radio interview. He said he was also the only councilor who opposed the measure during its deliberation. Sotto earlier said that the scheme does not address traffic woes in the city since motorists only avoid those areas where the scheme is in effect.