Cars with medical practitioners on board will be exempt from the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or number coding scheme, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced Wednesday.
Cars driven by or carrying doctors are exempted from the number coding scheme
The agency confirmed this information in light of a memorandum dated May 4 making the rounds online, addressed to traffic enforcement units and signed by MMDA chair Romano Artes.
According to the document, the MMDA acknowledged the contribution of doctors as frontliners in the fight against COVID-19 and maintaining the country’s healthcare system. Traffic personnel have been instructed not to cite them or any vehicle carrying them should there be a violation of the number coding scheme.
“Any vehicle driven (by) or transporting a medical doctor who is flagged down for violation of the (number coding scheme) shall not be issued a citation ticket and shall be allowed to carry on to his/her destination,” the memo read.
The MMDA says it acknowledges the contribution of doctors in the fight against COVID-19
However, the exemption shall only take effect if the doctor on board can present a valid ID and updated Professional Regulatory Commission Identification Card (PRC ID) at the time the apprehension took place. Also, this privilege is limited to physical apprehensions where doctors have ample opportunity to verify their identities and affiliation.
With no-contact traffic apprehension taking effect in several Metro Manila cities, it will be inevitable for vehicles carrying doctors on board to be caught on camera and flagged for a violation, nonetheless.
The exemption applies only to physical apprehensions by an MMDA traffic enforcer in the field
“In so far as non-contact apprehension is concerned, the appropriate protest shall be filed with the MMDA’s Traffic Adjudication Division where the driver or passenger medical doctor shall prove by the presentation of evidence that he/she was on board at the time the vehicle was tagged for UVVRP,” the memo added.
Even as the number of COVID-19 cases are declining so far, doctors still need to go on rounds and check on their patients as healthcare professionals. Do you think this number coding exemption will be able to help them in that regard?
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