MANILA — Give way to ambulances and emergency vehicles, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday said.
“Please give way to our emergency vehicles, they’re responding to save lives,” MMDA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Celine Pialago said in a statement, in response to a story about deaths in ambulances due to unyielding motorists and the traffic gridlock in the metro.
Since there are no dedicated lanes for emergency vehicles in the metro, Pialago said the agency looks for ways to keep roads open in times of emergency, amid the traffic gridlock.
Pialago said the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group would help in giving way to emergency vehicles, especially during heavy traffic.
“We assure the public that we are trying our best to solve this situation and that ambulances delivering patients on time is among our concerns,” Pialago said.
“Solving the entire traffic situation of Metro Manila is still our goal, since that will mean ambulances will never have any traffic jams to deal with,” Pialago said.
A video went viral on social media, with over 3 million views, showing vehicles not giving way to an ambulance. The patient survived the trip but died in the hospital a week later.
Pialago assured their efforts in addressing Metro Manila’s traffic woes which would keep such incidents from happening again.
She said since the creation of the MMDA, part of its mandate in easing the flow of traffic in the metro was to help ambulances reach hospitals on time.
“The problem of traffic is very complex, however, and the patients in ambulances are caught in the crossfire of factors,” Pialago said.
According to a joint administrative order released by the Department of Transportation and Communications in 2014, failure to yield right of way to ambulance, police or fire fighters can result in a fine of PHP1,000 payable to the Land Transportation Office.
Pialago added the MMDA also issues a fine of PHP150 to those who fail to give way to emergency vehicles.