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• Number Coding Guide for Filipino Motorists in 2021

Number Coding Guide for Filipino Motorists in 2021

What could be worse than being stuck in EDSA traffic while rushing to work? We can think of several things, and getting a number coding violation is one of them.

You can blame this little misfortune on the confusing number coding regulations. Or perhaps you really don’t know that you’re not supposed to be on this road at this hour. While your reasons may be valid, ignorance of the plate number coding scheme in the Philippines, or any other traffic rule or regulation, is not an excuse.

As of date, the number coding scheme remains suspended in NCR, except in Makati City where a modified coding scheme is being enforced.^[1]

Since the coding of vehicles in Manila and other cities is suspended until further notice, take this opportunity to get familiar with roads under this scheme. This way, you can plan your daily trips accordingly.

What is Number Coding?

The number coding scheme is a traffic management program by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for reducing the number of cars—and ultimately ease congestion—on the road.

What Time is Number Coding?

Officially called the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), plate number coding in the Philippines bans vehicles on major thoroughfares in Metro Manila from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on a certain day of the week based on the last digit of their license plate.

For example, if your license plate number ends in 0, you can’t drive your vehicle on Fridays along EDSA, Mabuhay Lanes,^[2] and other major roads in Metro Manila where the coding is enforced. Otherwise, you’ll be apprehended, ticketed, and required to pay the penalty fee for UVVRP violation.

Number Coding Coverage Areas

The number coding scheme covers all private and public utility vehicles, including jeepneys and buses (both city and provincial), except for motorcycles and tricycles.

The MMDA is the government agency that enforces the UVVRP in Metro Manila. Other urban areas in the Philippines, such as Baguio and Cavite, implement their own number coding scheme to manage traffic problems on their respective roads.

Coding Areas

The following cities in Metro Manila implement number coding:*

• Caloocan
• Las Piñas
• Makati
• Malabon
• Mandaluyong
• Manila
• Parañaque
• Pasay (except for MIA Road, Domestic Road, Airport Road, Sales Road, and portions of Buendia)
• Pasig
• Quezon City
• San Juan
• Valenzuela

*Note: Number coding is suspended in Metro Manila while it’s under general community quarantine. Wait for an announcement from the MMDA on when it will resume.

No Coding Areas

On the other hand, there is no coding in five areas of the metro, except for their usually congested roads.

• Marikina (except for Marcos Highway)
• Muntinlupa (except for Alabang-Zapote Rd.)
• Taguig (except for C5, East Service Rd., and Manuel L. Quezon Ave.)
• Navotas
• Pateros

Number Coding Window Hours

What is Window Hour?

The window hour refers to any time within the five-hour or seven-hour period when coded vehicles (those covered by number coding on a particular day) are allowed to use public roads.

Window hours are in effect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Parañaque, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Pasig.

No Window Hour Policy

However, window hours no longer apply to all national roads (including circumferential roads, radial roads, and other major roads) and Mabuhay Lane routes in Metro Manila.

This means for the entire duration of the number coding scheme on any weekday, coded vehicles cannot pass through these major thoroughfares. Crossing the intersections on these roads is allowed, though.

Here are the major roads in Metro Manila without number coding window hours:

Circumferential Roads

• C1 – C.M. Recto Ave. (Roxas Blvd. to Legarda)
• C2 – A.H. Lacson Ave. and Pres. Quirino Ave. (Roxas Blvd. to R10)
• C3 – G. Araneta Ave. and Sgt. Rivera Ave. (N. Domingo St. to R10)
• C4 – EDSA (R10 to Macapagal Blvd.)
• C5 – C.P. Garcia Ave. (Commonwealth Ave. to SLEX)
• C6

Radial Roads

• R1 – Roxas Blvd. (C.M. Recto Ave. to MIA Road)
• R2 – Taft Ave. (Lawton Ave. to Redemptorist)
• R3 – SLEX (Pres. Quirino Ave. to Nichols Interchange)
• R4 – Shaw Blvd. (Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. to Pasig Blvd.)
• R5 – Ortigas Ave. (Santolan to Imelda Ave.)
• R6 – Aurora Blvd. / R. Magsaysay Blvd. (Legarda/Ramon Magsaysay to C5 Katipunan)
• R7 – España Blvd., Quezon Ave., and Commonwealth Ave. (Carlos Palanca to Quezon Ave. to Commonwealth Ave. to Mindanao Ave.)
• R8 – A. Bonifacio Ave. (Blumentritt to EDSA Balintawak)
• R9 – Rizal Ave. (Carriedo to Monumento, Caloocan)
• R10 – Northern Coastal (Recto to C4)

Other Major Roads

• A. Mabini St. – Samson Road to C3 Road
• Alabang-Zapote Rd. – Alabang to Real St./Quirino Ave.
• McArthur Highway – Monumento Circle to Valenzuela/Meycauayan Boundary
• Marcos Highway – Katipunan to Sumulong Highway (Metro Manila area)

Frequently Asked Questions About Number Coding in the Philippines

1. What time is the number coding in Pasig?

Pasig City has window hours from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. However, this excludes C5, Shaw Boulevard (from R. Magsaysay to Pasig Boulevard), and Marcos Hi-way to Ortigas Avenue (from Santolan to Imelda Avenue).

2. Is the conduction sticker included in coding?

Yes. Even if you haven’t received your LTO license plate yet, your vehicle is still covered by the number coding scheme. The basis for plate number coding will be the last digit on your car’s conduction sticker.

3. When is the number coding lifted?

Coding days in Manila and nearby cities are usually suspended during public holidays. As for holiday coding this 2021, there will be no number coding on weekends and during elections and holidays like All Saints’ Day, Christmas, and New Year.

The MMDA also announces the number coding suspensions during calamities (typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc.). It may also lift number coding during public transport failures, like nationwide transport strikes or temporary closures of MRT/LRT lines.

As of March 2021, the number coding scheme remains suspended.

Read more:

• 10 Car Insurance Myths You Should Stop Believing
• Avoid These 3 Car Insurance Scams

4. Are senior citizens exempted from coding?

Senior citizens may apply for number coding exemption by submitting a letter of request, a photocopy of the vehicle’s OR/CR, and a payment of PHP 1,000 for both personal and business vehicles.

5. What is the penalty for number coding violations?

If you’re caught driving your coded vehicle in a prohibited area, the traffic enforcer will issue a traffic citation ticket and confiscate your driver’s license. You’ll also be fined for a number coding violation. The penalty fee is PHP 500 per offense, according to MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago.^[4]

Final Thoughts

Yes, number coding may be a huge inconvenience. But the MMDA asks motorists to make this sacrifice for the sake of decongesting EDSA and other major roads.

For now, we could hope that we won’t have to worry about number coding forever. There’s silver lining, though, since the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 and the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 have recently been opened for motorists. This reduces the congestion on EDSA by motorists coming from the north and the south.

But until we can see a massive improvement on the EDSA traffic, we have no other choice but to make this weekly, at the most daily, sacrifice.

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Car Insurance Company	Features
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Sources:

• ^[1] Number coding remains suspended in NCR (Manila Standard, 2021)
• ^[2] Mabuhay lanes (Inquirer.net. 2021)

Venus Zoleta

Venus is the Head of Content at Moneymax, with 15+ years of experience in digital marketing, corporate communications, PR, and journalism. She invests in stocks, mutual funds, VUL, and Pag-IBIG MP2. Outside of work, she’s crazy about cats and Korean dramas. Follow Venus on LinkedIn.