MANILA, Philippines – Delegates attending next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Metro Manila will be allowed to use the EDSA bus lane.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic Discipline Office Director Victor Nuñez said an additional lane has been added to the busway to accommodate the convoys of ASEAN delegates.

The busway will be opened to delegates starting this weekend, as foreign delegates are expected to arrive in the country, Nuñez said in an interview with DZMM Teleradyo on Thursday, November 12.

According to Nuñez, the designated route for the delegates’ convoys will cover the EDSA busway section from Ayala Avenue in Makati City to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

Starting Thursday, November 12, an additional 50 public buses will be using the EDSA busway, ahead of the ASEAN Summit. Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said the additional fleet is needed to accommodate the increasing number of passengers during the Christmas season.

The 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits will be held from November 15 to 17, with leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, USA, the United Nations expected to join the regional meeting. As ASEAN chair, the Philippines has also invited Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the summit.

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MMDA Chairperson Don Artes also advised motorists coming from the Ayala tunnel in Makati City to expect stop-and-go traffic as they approach the Magallanes flyover to give way to ASEAN delegates.

Some roads around the Philippine International Convention Center, the main summit venue in Pasay City, will also be closed to traffic.

The MMDA suspended the number-coding scheme from November 16 to 18. Malacañang also declared special non-working days in Metro Manila during the three-day summit to help ease traffic congestion.

Artes said traffic is also expected over the weekend before the summit as people are expected to travel to their home provinces for the long weekend. – Rappler.com