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The Anti-Red Tape Authority has drafted a joint memorandum circular prescribing guidelines for implementing the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP), a single pass for cargo trucks
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ULP is a single pass in the form of a quick response code that integrates all “sticker requirements” imposed on cargo trucks by government agencies, including local government units
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Pilot implementation of the project is eyed in December 2021
The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has drafted a joint memorandum circular (JMC) prescribing guidelines for implementing the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP), a single pass that will be issued to cargo trucks to ensure unhampered flow of goods.
Pilot implementation is eyed in December 2021.
The draft JMC has been submitted to concerned government agencies for comments, according to a presentation by ARTA deputy director general Atty. Ernesto V. Perez during the recent Logistics Summit hosted by the United Portusers Confederation and the Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia.
The ULP is a single pass that will come in the form of a quick response (QR) code to be issued to truckers. It is intended to “ensure unhampered transport of goods and products” by eliminating the need for other stickers, permits, and licenses issued by government agencies and local government units (LGUs).
The ULP will adopt a single registration scheme for trucking companies, and the QR code provided will be scanned and accepted by all government agencies including LGUs, port authorities, and economic zones.
Perez explained the ULP is a migration from RapidPass, an online system implemented last year giving frontliners and Authorized Persons Outside of Residences quick passage through checkpoints in Metro Manila during community quarantine periods.
Perez said the mobile phones used to implement RapidPass will be turned over to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and traffic enforcers so they can use them to implement the ULP.
RapidPass developer Developers Connect Inc. and the Department of Information and Communications Technology are assisting in the project.
The ULP is part of ARTA’s National Effort for the Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-related Agencies or Project NEHEMIA. Launched in March 2020, Project NEHEMIA is a sector-based streamlining effort that involves both capacity building with identified agencies and public hearings with stakeholders regarding existing and new regulations.
Logistics is one of five sectors included in the first phase of Project NEHEMIA. Under the project, the goal is to reduce within 52 weeks the time, cost, requirements, and procedures involved in government transactions in sectors of economic and social significance.
READ: ARTA launches project cutting red tape in logistics sector
In October last year, ARTA launched Project NEHEMIA for the logistics sector, with the vision to integrate all the “sticker requirements” imposed on cargo trucks by concerned government agencies and LGUs.
Perez earlier said the LTFRB has agreed to be the “root regulator” that will accept sticker requirements of concerned agencies and act as system owner of the ULP.
The ULP will have to be honored and recognized by LGUs and police forces in areas where trucks pass through.
The ULP will also be connected to the Bureau of Customs’ Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s scanning system.
Perez earlier noted in particular how LGUs, despite a Department of the Local and Interior Government (DILG) order in 2006 to stop issuing pass-through stickers, continue to force cargo trucks to pay for passage through LGUs’ jurisdictions.
Stakeholders, especially truckers, have long been complaining about these pass-through fees collected by LGUs, especially those in Metro Manila.
READ: LGU pass-through fees on cargo vehicles illegal, joint memo stresses
Last April, ARTA, DILG, and Department of Finance finally signed JMC 2021-01, which provides the omnibus guidelines for the suspension of LGUs’ imposition and collection of illegal fees and taxes relative to the transport of goods and products.
