Saturday, May 03, 2008 Veggie trucks freed from ban By Jane Cadalig
THE delivery of vegetables from the National Capital Region (NCR) to the Metro Manila markets will be faster and traders will be more secure, as Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Bayani Fernando assured the authority will respect the exemption of trucks from the ban imposed along the major roads in the NCR.
Fernando said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo instructed the MMDA to lift the ban on all trucks transporting perishable goods to Metro Manila.
"The ban will be lifted for some time until we can come up with a better strategy to address [the expected] traffic," Fernando told members of the local media in a briefing Friday. He spoke before a national gathering of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) at the Baguio Convention Center.
Even those without the food lane stickers issued by the Department of Agriculture (DA) will not be apprehended so long as these carry perishable products, Fernando said.
The lifting of the truck ban is one of the strategies devised by the government to facilitate the delivery of agricultural commodities to Manila markets.
The order, Fernando said, will be made known to MMDA personnel soon.
Vegetable trucks from the region have complained on the implementation of truck bans along Metro Manila's main thoroughfares, saying some MMDA personnel do not honor the food lane stickers issued by the government.
Fernando said the order of the President would be disseminated to traffic implementers.
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