The Manila City government will heighten police visibility and add parking spaces to accommodate shoppers for the Christmas season.

“Ang tagubilin ko sa Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) at Manila Police District (MPD), sana diretso lang ang traffic sa Maynila dahil ito ang dinadayo ng mga tao para mamili ng mga Pamasko (My instruction for the MTPB and MPD is to ensure free-flowing vehicular traffic in Manila as many people troop to the city for Christmas shopping),” Mayor Honey Lacuna said in a press briefing on Thursday.

Lacuna said this is to ensure a safe celebration of the Christmas season for residents and for those who intend to visit the city’s famous shopping districts, including Quiapo, Avenida, and Divisoria.

She added that they would also beef up security measures in other markets and shopping malls in the city.

The city would charge customers a PHP50 parking fee, she added.

Lacuna, meanwhile, announced that the city-wide distribution of Christmas gift baskets to 695,000 households will begin on Friday.

The distribution of gift boxes will run until Dec. 12, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, covering four districts per day.

Each gift box contains “Noche Buena” goods, including pasta, spaghetti sauce, cheese, corned beef, fruit cocktail, condensed milk, and 3 kg. of rice.

Meanwhile, the payout of the monthly financial assistance for September to December to senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disability (PWDs) will be released in early December.

The mayor also announced that a Grand Bazaar will be held at the Mehan Garden along with the anticipated Masses to be held at the Kartilya ng Katipunan. (PNA)