THE lack of roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) ports, weighing scales and container vans contribute to the high cost of transporting goods through the Strong Republic National Highway (SRNH), legislators said on Monday, Feb. 18.
The House Oversight Committee on Transportation learned about the problems hounding the ro-ro routes during the continuation of a committee hearing in an attempt to bring down the cost of transporting goods from Mindanao to Visayas and Luzon through ro-ro ports and vessels.
Former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that while the SRNH was launched in 2003 yet, it was not given attention by the previous administration.
Arroyo said during the hearing that while there are applicants for ro-ro ports construction and operation of ro-ro vessels, the ro-ro system, laws, rules and regulations must be revised to allow them to help bring down transport costs.
“On the issue of costs in the transport of goods, we found out that for those routes where ro-ro is more conventional, the cost is not on RoRo but in the trucks,” Arroyo said.
The matter was raised by Bienvenido Basco, executive vice president of the Port Users Confederation of the Philippines Inc. (PUCP), saying that a truckload of goods from Mindanao would reach Manila in three to four days using the western route, with a return trip taking the same number of days.
“In short, a truck is tied up to that particular cargo for six to seven days. That causes the cost to go up,” Basco said.
Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, the House Transportation Committee chairman, said they will invite the truckers in the next hearing in Leyte.
Sarmiento also noted the statements of Emery Roble of Roble Shipping Lines and Alex Cojon of the Visayan Association of of Ferryboat and Coastwise Service Operators (VAFCSO) who said that the fees for the use of weighing scales add to the cost of transporting goods.
Arroyo said that since the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) owns and operates weighing scales across the country, the House Committee will request the agency to determine the weight of goods loaded into ro-ro vessels.
Arroyo also advised the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to invite the private sector to participate in the SRNH using routes that were identified during her term as president.