THE stretch of MacArthur Highway in Pampanga is usually subject of ire and complaints of motorists due to the deteriorated state of some of its portions.
The travel from the City of San Fernando up to Apalit town via MacArthur Highway is a source of headache to motorists as they have to endure large potholes and craters, and uneven road pavement along the way.
What irks road users more is the fast deterioration of the several specific road sections as it usually goes back to its sad state just a few months after its rehabilitation.
This prompted Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Roger G. Mercado to renew the call for intensified implementation of Anti-Overloading law.
Being a national road, DPWH is responsible for the maintenance, upgrading and widening of the whole stretch of MacArthur Highway.
According to Mercado, overloaded vehicles result to premature deterioration of roads and bridges, causing vehicular accidents, and endangering commuters and pedestrians.
Citing a report from the DPWH Bureau of Quality and Safety, Mercado disclosed that around 34 percent of the trucks plying the country’s national roads in 2021 alone were classified as overloaded.
This means that the Nationwide Cases of Truck Overloading jumped by 6.96 percent in 2021, comparing from the data recorded in 2020.
“Of the 401,785 trucks that were weighed by our 38 truck weighing stations in 2021, a total of 137,029 or 34.11 percent were apprehended for overloading. This is alarming, considering that the cases have worsened from 2020 which is only at 27.15 percent,” he said.
To prevent further damage, Mercado ordered all DPWH Regional and District Engineering Offices to intensify the implementation of the RA 8794 otherwise known as the Anti-overloading law immediately.
He said DPWH personnel from different engineering offices across the country, in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), and Land Transportation Office (LTO), will jointly apprehend violators of overloading nationwide by setting up permanent and mobile weighing stations along national roads.
“Aside from danger and inconvenience that deteriorated roads cause, it also redounds to more government spending on road maintenance,” he said.
The DPWH secretary asked for the cooperation of truckers and haulers, and advised them to comply with the law to prevent inconveniences during their travel.