IACT bans funeral convoys on major roads

MANILA, Philippines - The Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (IACT) banned yesterday slow-moving funeral corteges from all major roads in the metropolis to decongest traffic, an official said yesterday.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officer-in-charge Tim Orbos said banning funeral processions on major roads would prevent traffic buildup on busy streets in the metropolis. 

The MMDA is a member of the IACT along with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulation Board, Land Transportation Office and the Highway Patrol Group. 

Orbos, who met with members of the funeral services industry yesterday, said funeral parlor owners agreed to observe the following measures:

Once the funeral convoy leaves the funeral parlor, it shall proceed at normal traffic speed. 

The hearse and its convoy shall obey traffic rules. The convoy shall stop or gets cut once the traffic signal turns red. No stopping of traffic to allow the hearse and its convoy to pass. 

For those requiring walks, as per tradition or culture, designated walk areas will be identified based on the assessment of funeral parlors. 

“The funeral services industry players understand and recognize the need to ease the traffic condition in the roads,” Orbos said. 

He said the ban will be in effect until the end of the year.