MANILA - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is looking into a temporary ban on weekday mall sales this holiday season to ease traffic, an official said Wednesday.

The MMDA also plans to discuss with mall operators the adjustment of opening hours to ease traffic during rush hours, assistant general manager Jose Campo said during a House Committee briefing on the traffic management plan for the holidays.

"On weekends of course wala tayong pasok sa opisina and place of work pwede sila sa mall," Campo said.

(On weekends, of course, we don't have work so they can go to the mall)

“Baka pwede payagan Friday evening up to Saturday and Sunday," he added.

(It's possible to permit [sales] from Friday evening up to Saturday and Sunday)

Adjusting the operating hours of malls in the metro will reduce the number of mall-goers, employees and vehicles within the congested mall areas, he said.

Some 300,000 mall employees are working in malls in Metro Manila alone, the MMDA estimated.

MMDA suggested to start mall hours by 11 a.m., and the deliveries of goods by 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. to "practically reduce the delivery trucks [and the] volume of delivery trucks," Campo said.

Campo said adjustments in operating hours during the holiday season was proven effective after it was implemented in 2018.

The MMDA is also preparing a traffic management plan for the entire Metro Manila, in preparation for the anticipated influx of vehicles this holiday season, Campo said.

The average number of vehicle volume in EDSA rose to 405,882 in the January to August 2019 period, higher than the 2018 average of 383,828, MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago earlier said.-- with a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News