Philippine truckers are planning another caravan, this time using trucks, if the government does not issue within the week a final decision on the age at which a truck will be given a franchise.
The current proposal being considered by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) limits the issuance of a truck franchise to units aged 15 years and below. The trucking industry is opposed to the measure, saying truck roadworthiness should instead be the basis by which a franchise should be given.
Integrated North Harbor Truckers Association (INHTA) president Teodorico Gervacio, in a phone interview with PortCalls, said they plan to organize a caravan next week if the LTFRB and its mother agency, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), has no policy yet on the truck franchise by May 22.
INHTA, together with the Aduana Business Club, Inc. and truckers from Central Luzon and Bulacan, staged a caravan comprising about 200 cars on May 18 in front of the LTFRB main office in Quezon City to protest the 15-year truck age limit.
Gervacio said about 2,000 trucks in Metro Manila no longer ply the roads, as they have been affected by the non-confirmatory year policy being implemented by the LTFRB. This is despite the absence of a clear-cut memorandum implementing the proposed 15-year old policy. It now appears that the validity of a truck’s franchise is based on its age, per an LTFRB letter in 2014.
In a letter to the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP) in June 2014, LTFRB chairman Atty Winston Ginez said trucks 15 years old and above may still apply for a franchise but under certain conditions.
Based on Ginez’s letter, the franchise of trucks aged 26 years and above will only be valid for one year; trucks aged 21 to 25 for two years; 16 to 20 years, three years; and 11 to 15 years, four years. New units up to age 10 will have a franchise valid for five years.
Since about 80% of the country’s current truck fleet are second-hand and more than 15 years old, many operators will be unable to renew their franchises, Gervacio said.
If fully implemented, the proposed policy would affect around 19,000 trucks until 2019, LTFRB earlier noted. More than P50 billion will also be needed to replace those 19,000 trucks.
Gervacio said trucking rates will rise by up to 85% — from P11,870 per container within Metro Manila to P22,000 per container — if DOTC and LTFRB proceed with the implementation.
And yet the LTFRB proposed policy exempts 15-year-old trucks privately owned by manufacturers and other companies, defeating the purpose of keeping old trucks from operating, Gervacio pointed out.
INHTA is pushing for a 10-year moratorium on the 15-year old truck age limit, although a phaseout based on roadworthiness should still be implemented within that period, Gervacio said.
CTAP is proposing a five-year moratorium.
Gervacio explained the 10-year moratorium gives truckers enough time to re-fleet, provided there is government assistance such as tax incentives on imports.
Last week reports circulated that the LTFRB had agreed to a two-year moratorium on the 15-year truck age limit. This was later proved to be untrue.
In a recent forum with truckers, Ginez agreed that roadworthiness should be the basis for giving a truck franchise. He said the issue is an “urgent matter” and LTFRB is “finding ways for road worthiness to be the final consideration.”
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya has directed LTFRB to come up with a common position on the proposed policy with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
On May 13, LTFRB and DTI officials met to discuss the issue although no announcement has been made by either agency. The final decision will come from Abaya. – Roumina Pablo
