Manila gov’t urged to implement 3-month moratorium on truck ban

AS THE shipping industry reportedly has lost around $5.4 billion in revenues, lawmakers have adopted a resolution urging the City Government of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the controversial daytime truck ban.

House committee on Metro Manila Development and Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo said that the house panel voted unanimously to adopt a draft Omnibus Resolution calling for a moratorium on the truck ban ordinance.

"Our resolution is urging the City of Manila to declare three-month moratorium on truck ban ordinance. We hope that the [local government unit] will heed the clamor of the resident of Metro Manila because this is not only an issue of traffic in Manila, this has been an issue of national great interest. We already experiencing the price increases in our basic commodities because of this," he said.

Castelo said that members of his committee have consulted all the stakeholders before the drafting of the resolution.

"It is not spontaneous decision, this is not one click of a finger, we heard stakeholders, including exporters, importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, and trucking business," he said.

Castelo said Manila Representative Amado Bagatsing will personally hand the copy of the resolution to Mayor Joseph Estrada next week.

The City Council of Manila last February passed Ordinance 8336 to implement a daytime truck ban to ease traffic congestion in the nation’s capital.

Under the ban, eight-wheeler trucks with a gross weight of more than 4,500 kilograms are not allowed in Manila's streets from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Violators, as stipulated in the city ordinance, were fined P5,000 and faced possible impoundment.

$5.4 billion in revenues lost

Meanwhile, the Association of International Shipping Lines Inc. (AISL) President Patrick Ronas said that the industry has lost around $5.4 billion in revenues due to the implementation of the daytime truck ban in the capital.

Ronas said that shipping lines have been incurring losses as cargoes remain at a standstill near in the Port Area, where they need to berth to unload their cargo.

He said the movement of shipment at the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Terminal has slowed down, as trucks are limited to plying their routes.

"[The ban] has resulted in a very long berthing time for vessels. If it's stranded in the breakwater and can't berth in Manila, the shipping companies still need to pay $10,000 a day until the ship departs or goes to another pier," he said.

Albert Suansing, director of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), said the prior to the implementation of the ordinance the average truck trips is 5,500 per 24-hour but when the ordinance was implemented it was reduced to 2,000 trips a day.

Suansing also said that CTAP released in March new guide rates for its members, applying a 50-percent average increase for the transport of containerized cargoes from the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT)/South Harbor to select points in Metro Manila, and Northern and Southern Luzon.

He said the increase of hauling rates it charges is the consequence of the prevailing truck ban in Manila, which effectively delayed the delivery of goods, and incurring additional cost on the operations of truckers.

Meanwhile, officials from Association of International Shipping lines Inc., Confederation of Truckers Association the Philippines, Philippines Exporters Confederation Inc., Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. and Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association and AIR 21 Cargo supported the committee's action against the truck ban.

Also invited to the hearing were representatives from Philippine Port Authority, Department of Transportation and Communications, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Customs, National Economic and Development Authority, Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Moreover, Castelo said that the panel omnibus resolution also calls for the removal of 12,000 Customs-cleared overstaying containers in the port.

"We will exercise the legislative power of Congress. We will exercise the oversight function of our committee so that so this will not happen again… this cause a lot of economic hardship to our country," Castelo said.

The committee next will invite the cluster panel, headed by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almnedras to brief the committee about the government's efforts to address the port congestion. (Sunnex)

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