A driver attempted to evade number coding in the metro by traveling with an unauthorized customized license plate named “WINSLET.”
New Task Force Special Operations commander Edison “Bong” Nebrija of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) shared pictures of a white Honda Civic Type R they flagged down for violating road rules.
“Oops, unauthorized plate. Our doubt was, this car [was] coding, it turned out we were right,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, July 19.
The car’s regular license plate ended in five.
Under MMDA’s number coding scheme, vehicles with plate numbers ending in five (5) and six (6) are not allowed to ply major roads in Metro Manila every Wednesday.
Meanwhile, those with plate numbers ending in one (1) and two (2) are on coding every Monday.
Those ending in three (3) and four (4) are on coding every Tuesday, while those ending in seven (7) and eight (8) are on coding every Thursday.
On the other hand, vehicles with plates ending in nine (9) and zero (0) are on coding every Friday.
The number coding scheme is implemented in the capital region from 7 to 10 a.m. and 5 and 8 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays and weekends.
The policy aims to lessen vehicle congestion in Metro Manila’s public roads.
Meanwhile, automobile magazine Top Gear Philippines reported that the vehicle in question was in number coding that day.
Nebrija and other MMDA personnel found this out when they removed its customized plate and returned its registered license plate.
“WINSLET” is famously associated with English actress Kate Winslet who starred in the popular “Titanic” film.
Vanity plates
A customized plate — also known as a vanity plate — is not exempted from the number coding scheme in the metro.
According to the MMDA, the scheme will apply to the regular license plate of the vehicle to which the vanity plate is attached.
Exemptions to the number coding scheme are limited edition vanity license plates. These have four to six characters with identical numbers or characters.
Vanity plates are personalized plate numbers that do not have the same format as regular plates with numbers and letters.
Securing one costs P25,000 for a premium edition and P10,000 for a special edition.
It can only be issued to certain vehicles with a regular license plate number.
