LTFRB eyes Unified Logistics Pass 2.0 rollout by yearend

• The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is eyeing initial roll out of the Unified Logistics Pass 2.0 before the end of 2024

• LTFRB board member Engr. Riza Mae Paches said ULP 2.0 will be an upgraded version of the system

• LTFRB is still completing the systems development and clearing the single payment window feature

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is eyeing initial roll out of the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP) 2.0 before the end of 2024, according to board member Riza Mae Paches.

ULP 2.0 will be an upgraded version of the system officially launched in January 2022 when a memorandum of agreement and a joint memorandum circular for the pilot implementation was signed by various government agencies, port operators, and private sector partners.

The ULP, initiated by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), is a single pass in the form of a quick response (QR) code that will be issued to cargo trucks to ensure the unhampered flow of goods. It is intended to eliminate various permits, licenses, and pass-through stickers required by economic zones, ports, and local government units (LGU) in order to facilitate movement and ease of port entry of cargo trucks.

The ULP is currently not being used but was pilot tested in three areas: the Cavite Export Processing Zone, Clark Freeport Zone, and Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In a panel discussion during the 7th Logistics Summit hosted by the United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. and Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia, Paches said when the ULP was turned over to LTFRB in June 2022 as the system’s owner and lead implementer, they contracted a systems developer “to look into what were the glitches before during its implementation.”

In an interview with PortCalls at the sidelines of the summit, Paches said they have not yet completed the systems development for the upgrading and are still getting the concurrence of ARTA and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the full roll out.

Being a government transaction, the system’s single payment window feature needs to be cleared with the Bureau of Treasury.

In September 2023, ARTA said DICT plans to incorporate the ULP into the government’s one-stop shop mobile application for various government services, the e-GOV PH Super App.

READ: Unified Logistics Pass to be integrated into government one-stop app

Paches noted, however, it seems that “not all the players are very keen on having it implemented.”

“We also want to look into it (from) your perspective. Kung hindi ba ito magwo (If the system doesn’t) work as designed by government, what can work as designed by the private sector themselves?” Paches asked.

She said LTFRB remains open to discussing the system with the private sector, adding that the Department of Agriculture is also looking into the system.

The ULP is a migration from RapidPass, an online system developed by Developers Connect Philippines, Inc. implemented in 2020 giving frontliners and Allowed Persons Outside of Residences quick passage through checkpoints in Metro Manila during community quarantine periods.

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.

ULP’s implementation is seen as lowering the cost of basic goods by eliminating various port and pass- through fees currently borne by truckers and eventually passed on to clients.

Stakeholders, especially truckers, have long voiced grievances about the pass-through fees collected by LGUs, particularly in Metro Manila.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr signed Executive Order 41 in September 2023 banning the collection of pass-through fees on national roads. The EO also urged LGUs to suspend any form of fees on vehicles transporting goods, as outlined in Section 153 or 155 of Republic Act No. 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991. – Roumina Pablo