STARTING Monday, April 20, 2020, motor vehicles in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue will only be allowed to ply the streets according to the last number of their plates.
This after Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella and Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes signed separate executive orders on Saturday, April 18, implementing a number coding scheme in the two cities while the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) is still in effect.
In his EO, Labella said during Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, only vehicles with plate numbers ending in odd numbers such as 1-3-5-7-9 are allowed to ply the streets while vehicles with plates ending with even numbers such as 2-4-6-8-0 are allowed to ply during Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
On Sundays, no vehicles are allowed to ply or roam around the city.
In Mandaue City’s case, Cortes’s EO states that vehicles whose plates end in numbers 1-3-5-7-9 are allowed to travel the city on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
For vehicles whose plates end in number 2-4-6-8-0, they are allowed to ply the city’s roads on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
But on Sunday, vehicles with plates ending in 1-3-5-7-9 can ply Mandaue’s streets from 12 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. while those whose plates end in 2-4-6-8-0 can ply the streets from 12 noon to 11:59 p.m.
Though both EOs cover all motor vehicles, vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks, those owned by law enforcement agencies, those hired by local government units for public transport, relief operations, delivery of goods, vehicles with diplomatic plates; and those owned and operated by the barangays are exempted from the number coding scheme.
Also exempted are vehicles owned by medical frontliners, national and local government officials; drivers and personnel of delivery vehicles of all types of cargoes; construction workers duly authorized by the City; accredited media personnel; farmers, fishermen, and agri-business personnel; and persons who seek medical attention or who are already admitted in any medical facility, provided that only one companion is allowed.
Labella’s EO also underlined text to: exempts the vehicles of establishments exempted from closure such as hospitals, medical clinics, and laboratories; pharmacies and drug stores; gasoline stations; cargo handlers, forwarders, shipping lines, truckers, container yards; water, electricity cable, and telecommunication companies; funeral parlors; establishments rendering delivery services, whether in-house or outsourced, transporting food, medicine, and other basic necessities; food establishments provided that there shall be no dine-in customers and only take-out orders or delivery services are allowed; food manufacturers and suppliers; public markets, supermarkets, groceries, bakeshops, and convenience stores; water refilling stations; veterinary clinics; animal feed suppliers; banks and money transfers; hardware stores; delivery and courier services; dealers or suppliers of agricultural products, LPG and other petroleum products, medical supplies and veterinary supplies; and laundry services.
The EO also does not cover wholesalers, purchasers, or kumpradors from community markets and from other local government units, subject to proper endorsement or certification from the concerned LGU, and authorized marketgoers pursuant to the schedule imposed by EO No. 69 or the first letter of the last names scheme implemented in Carbon Public Market; and also those authorized by the mayor or duly authorized representative.
Those exempted vehicles must provide a written inscription of the purpose of the transport and under which agency or institution in the conspicuous part of the vehicle.
The drivers of the exempted vehicles must also present a company ID or personal identification card or business permit or documents proving the exemption.
The primary implementing office of the order are the barangay officials. Other implementing offices are Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), and other law enforcement agencies. (JJL)