Thursday, August 28, 2008 Unlawful LTO fines for overloading By Jane Cadalig
AFTER extortion, it's now the problem on load limit bugging vegetable delivery traders coming from Benguet.
The Benguet Truckers and Traders Association (BTTA) has called the attention of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to look into the implementation of some LTO personnel in Tarlac, saying these law enforcers do not stick to what the law on overloading requires.
On August 19 and 20, several vegetable trucks were flagged down by LTO personnel in Capas, Tarlac and were issued citation tickets because these trucks exceeded their gross weights as indicated in their respective certificates of registration.
BTTA president Benito Hipolito, in his letter to LTO Assistant Secretary Alberto Suansing, explained that in determining the gross weights of the vegetable trucks, personnel of the LTO-Tarlac combined the weight of all the truck's axles, resulting in overload.
A similar letter was also sent to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap who was asked to look into the complaints of vegetable truck drivers who are indiscriminately arrested.
Instead of determining the weight of the vehicle per axle, as provided for by the anti-overloading law, Hipolito said the LTO-Tarlac based the gross weight of the trucks on the total axle load.
The BTTA said LTO should stick to the per-axle standard in determining the gross weights of trucks, as what is implemented at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).
"The arrests unreasonably delayed the delivery of vegetables to Metro Manila, thus seriously affecting government's food security program and the Food Lane Project," Hipolito's letter said.
"Because of the apprehensions, the delivery of vegetables to Metro Manila suffered delay and this decreased supply delivered to the markets," the letter added.
