Metro Manila film Festival MMFF logo
MANILA, Philippines — The 49th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will hold its Parade of Stars next Saturday, Dec. 16, and motorists are advised to avoid its route, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.
According to the MMDA, the parade will take place in Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela (Camanava) area for the first time.
Big-name celebrities from the official film entries will participate in the said event, and thousands of people are expected to flock to the route of their decorative floats, the MMDA said.
In an advisory on Friday, the MMDA instructed motorists to avoid the parade’s route. It will run for 8.7 kilometers in Camanava, and is estimated to last for three hours.
The agency said the event will start at 2:00 p.m. from the Navotas Centennial Park, and end at Valenzuela People’s Park where the main event will take place.
From 12 noon to 8 p.m. on the parade’s date, there will be temporary lane closures and counterflows along the following roads:
- C-4 Road (from Navotas Centennial Park to A Mabini St.)
- Samson Road (from A. Mabini St. to Monumento Circle)
- McArthur Highway (from Monumento Circle to C. Santos Street)
Heavy traffic is expected in the areas, the MMDA said. It also noted that the roads will be opened after all the floats have passed through them.
The MMDA encouraged motorists with no business in the areas to instead take the following alternate routes to avoid inconvenience:
- From Malabon to Navotas, take Gov. Pascual and M. H. Del Pilar Street
- Motorists heading to Monumento may take Gov. I Santiago Road, M. H. Del Pilar Street, and Samson Road
- Motorists may also take North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) northbound and southbound
The MMDA said 1,000 personnel will be deployed along the parade’s route. They are composed of traffic enforcers, members of the Road Emergency Group, Public Safety Division, Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group, Towing and Impounding Group, Traffic Engineering Center, and more.
The agency said they are in coordination with the four host cities, the Philippine National Police, the Office of Civil Defense-National Capital Region, and other concerned agencies in facilitating the smooth flow of the parade, and ensuring the safety and security of its people.
The 49th MMFF will run from December 25 to January 7, the MMDA said. The film entries the will participate are as follows:
- A Family of 2 (A Mother and Son Story)
- (K)Ampon
- Penduko
- Rewind
- Becky and Badette
- Broken Heart’s Trip
- Firefly
- GomBurZa
- Mallari
- When I Met You in Tokyo
“This year’s parade of stars will traverse four cities as we want more people to have a glimpse of the casts of the 10 MMFF entries,” MMDA Acting Chairman and concurrent MMFF Overall Chairman Don Artes said in a statement.
“With the expected influx of spectators and movie fans, we have prepared a traffic management plan to mitigate the effects on vehicular flow,” he added.