TTMO Prepares for Manggahan Festival Traffic Surge

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

With thousands of visitors expected for the Manggahan Festival, the Iloilo City Transportation and Traffic Management Office (TTMO) is implementing measures to ensure smooth traffic flow around the city’s two busiest port terminals.

From May 23 to 25, TTMO will enforce no-entry zones and partial road closures near Lapuz RoRo Wharf and Parola Wharf.

“We developed a traffic management plan at the request of the governor of Guimaras, focused on our critical wharfs,” TTMO head Uldarico Garbanzos said on Wednesday, May 21.

“We learned a lot from last year’s festival, which drew thousands of motorists and passengers, and this year, crowd control is our top priority,” he added.

In Barangay Libertad, Lapuz, a one-way traffic scheme will be implemented to ease congestion near the Iloilo-Bacolod Fast Craft Terminal and Lapuz RoRo Port.

Key traffic adjustments are as follows:

Lapuz RoRo Wharf

• Two-wheeled vehicles must queue along Rizal Street, Lapuz Norte.
• Four-wheeled and light vehicles are assigned to Libertad, Lapuz near the Fast Craft Terminal.
• Trucks will queue only along the Lapuz-Mansaya-Loboc Road.
• Trucks are prohibited from entering Fast Craft/Libertad Lapuz via Muelle Loney or Cesar Drilon Bridge.

Parola Wharf

• Passenger drop-off/unloading zone is in front of the Coast Guard Office, Muelle Loney Street.
• Tricycle loading is in front of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).
• Taxi loading is in front of the DPWH Region VI office.
• PUJ/PUV loading is in front of the DILG Office.
• No truck entry is allowed from Nisa Road to Muelle Loney Street.
• Trucks from the Philippine Ports Authority must reroute via General Hughes Street.
• No vehicle entry is allowed along Muelle Loney Street from DPWH VI to CityMall Parola.

Garbanzos urged all motorists to take alternate routes and follow traffic signs during the festival period.

Twenty TTMO personnel, supported by police officers, will be deployed to manage chokepoints and assist with rerouting.