Thursday, May 15, 2008 LTO hit for not enforcing anti-overloading law
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The chairman of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) on Wednesday took the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to task for not enforcing the anti-overloading law.
ADCL chairman Rene Romero blamed the LTO for not running after overloaded trucks, mostly carrying quarry sand, plying the province’s major roads, particularly McArthur Highway.
“These overloaded trucks are contributing to the fast deterioration of our bridges and roads and the LTO is not lifting a finger to do something about them,” Romero said.
Romero’s criticism came on the heels of ADCL’s appeal for the repair of the heavily damaged bridge at Circumferential Road in Villa Leoncia, Angeles City, which he said posed a risk to motorists.
Circumferential Road, linked to McArthur Highway, traverses Bacolor town and Angeles City and serves as a shorter passage to Porac and the Clark Freeport Zone coming from this city.
Romero said while LTO agents are quick to pounce on minor traffic violators on the road, they seem to ignore overloaded trucks which, according to him, also contribute to traffic problems.
He estimated that a minimum of 500 trucks pass through Circumferential Road daily and the number could go even as high as 3,000 on certain days.
He said he has already sent two letters to Governor Eddie Panlilio to address the problem but nothing has been done about it until now.
“The Capitol said they will look into it,” he said wryly.
Romero expressed apprehension that major roads and bridges in the province face continued deterioration and irreversible damage unless concerned government agencies like the LTO will do something about it.
“Implementing the anti-overloading law is a critical part of the solution,” he said.
He also asked the North Luzon Expressway management to help in tracking down overloaded quarry trucks.
“I am appealing to Mr. Ping de Jesus, president of the Manila North Tollway Corp. (MNTC), to replace their portable weighing device,” he said.
