The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has extended to January 15, 2015 the franchise application for trucks-for-hire offering port-related services.
The extension also prolongs the validity of previously approved provisional authority (PA) given to some truck operators. The original deadline for application of franchise and validity of PAs was October 17.
LTFRB chairman Atty Winston Ginez in a statement said the extension will help ease congestion in Manila ports and is in anticipation of the increase in cargo volume for the holiday season.
Ginez said the extension was also a directive from the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion to provide the remaining 5,000 of 12,000 trucks with port-related services time to apply for the franchise.
“After a careful study of the port situation and consideration of the plight of truck port users as well as the possible economic impact to our local agri-business sector and consumers, we will comply with the directive of the Cabinet Cluster,” Ginez said.
“We support the national government’s recommendation to extend the issuance of PAs to truck port users to ensure sufficiency and availability of cargo trucks to decongest the Port of Manila,” he added.
LTFRB also advised trucks with port-related services whose petitions were dismissed by the agency for reasons such as failure to claim or publish Notice of Hearing, failure to attend hearing, or failure to submit documentary requirements, to file a motion for reconsideration with motion to extend provisional authority up to January 31, 2015.
As of October 9, LTFRB said a total of 2,723 franchise applications were ready for release. It should be noted that an application may cover one or more truck units.
Helpful move
Commenting on LTFRB’s decision to extend the franchise application deadline, George Chua, president of the Federation of Philippine Industries, noted that “any plan that can help get precious goods in and out of country and help sustain the country’s fast-growing economy is welcome.”
He said cargo truck operators that could not meet the Oct 17 deadline for franchise application “will cause massive problems for consumers and businessmen especially now that we have a backlog of more than 20 ships queued for berthing at the Port of Manila.”
When the Manila truck ban, which triggered the port congestion, was lifted on September 13, Manila ports recorded improvements in truck movement.
Manila International Container Port recorded a 30% increase in imports pulled out, 50% improvement on exports and empties brought in, and vessel waiting time down by 40%.
Manila South Harbor, on the other hand, had seen 40% increase in truck movements while average waiting time to berth was down to four days from nine since the lifting of the ban.
Despite the improvements, there is still a high volume of shipments needed to be cleared from the port and congestion remains a problem, LTFRB said. – Roumina Pablo
