MMDA offers free ferry ride on Independence Day

MMDA Chairman Atty. Francis Tolentino checks the stations and ferries before the re-opening of the Pasig River Ferry on March 2014. Photo from MMDA’s official Facebook page.

MANILA -– The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday said the Pasig River ferry is offering free rides on Independence Day (June 12).

The Pasig River ferry covers the following routes: Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City to Guadalupe in Makati City, Guadalupe to Escolta in Manila, and Guadalupe to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros via PUP in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

It operates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

MMDA said that the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the number coding scheme will also be suspended on Thursday.

Meanwhile, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino will lead the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies on June 12 at the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan to mark the nation’s 116th Independence Day celebrations.

Tolentino is the guest of honor and speaker during the event which starts at 8 a.m., with the theme “Pagsunod sa Yapak ng mga Dakilang Filipino, Tungo sa Malawakan at Permanenteng Pagbabago.”

The Barasoain Church was where the First Philippine Republic was proclaimed on January 23, 1899 under General Emilio Aguinaldo, the Philippine’s first president.

It was also at the church where the First Philippine Congress was convened on September 15, 1898, and where the Malolos Constitution was subsequently drafted from September 29, 1898 to January 21, 1899 by a committee led by Felipe Calderon.

Aside from Aguinaldo, President Joseph Estrada was also sworn into office at the Barasoain Church.

The church was proclaimed as a national shrine on August 1, 1973.