The 49th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will hold its Parade of Stars on Saturday, December 16, at the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area, in which big-name celebrities from the 10 official film entries will participate.
The parade will showcase decorative floats carrying stars representing the 10 movie in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Official movie lineup: “A Family of 2 (A Mother and Son Story),” “(K)Ampon,” “Penduko,” “Rewind,” “Becky and Badette,” “Broken Heart’s Trip,” “Firefly,” “GomBurZa,” “Mallari,” and “When I Met You in Tokyo.”
The annual parade will pass through four cities, a first time in MMFF history.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which organizes the much-anticipated annual festival, advises motorists to avoid the parade route as thousands are expected to watch the star-studded parade.
The parade will kick off at 2 pm from the Navotas Centennial Park; and will travel through C4, Samson Road, and Mc Arthur Highway up to the Valenzuela People’s Park where the main event will take place.
It will run for 8.7 kilometers, with an estimated travel time of three hours.
The MMDA, in coordination with the parade’s host cities Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela, Philippine National Police (PNP), Office of Civil Defense-NCR (OCD NCR), and concerned agencies, has laid down measures to facilitate the smooth flow of the parade as well as ensure the safety and security of the participating celebrities and people who will watch the parade.
“1,000 personnel will be deployed along the parade route.”
MMDA Acting Chairman and concurrent MMFF Over-all Chairman Atty. Don Artes said 1,000 personnel, composed of traffic enforcers, members of the Road Emergency Group, Public Safety Division, Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group, Towing and Impounding Group, Traffic Engineering Center, among others, will be deployed along the parade route.
“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,” Artes said.
“With the expected influx of spectators and movie fans, we have prepared a traffic management plan to mitigate the effects on vehicular flow.”
“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.
The MMDA will implement temporary lane closures and counterflow from 12 noon to 8 pm along the following roads:
• C-4 Road (from Navotas Centennial Park to A Mabini St.)
• Samson Road (from A. Mabini St. to Monumento Circle)
• Mc Arthur Highway (from Monumento Circle to C. Santos Street)
• Roads will be opened after all the floats have passed.
Heavy traffic is expected along Samson Road, Mc Arthur Highway and perpendicular Roads as movie fans are anticipated to flock the streets to see their favorite stars.
Motorists with no business in the area are encouraged to avoid the affected route to avoid inconvenience and take the following alternate routes:
• 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 49th MMFF will run from December 25 to January 7 in Philippine theaters.
Organized by the MMDA, the MMFF is aimed primarily to promote and enhance the preservation of Philippine Cinema.
This year’s MMFF is presented in partnership with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Proceeds from the film festival go to a number of beneficiaries in the film industry, including the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc., the Motion Picture and Anti-Film Piracy Council, the FDCP, and the Optical Media Board.
