Navotas City’s implementation of the limited truck ban is pushing through despite calls for suspension of the policy by port stakeholders fearing flow of goods will be restricted.
Navotas City mayor Tobias Tiangco, in separate letters to stakeholders dated December 26, 2019, said the city government has duly noted the groups’ concerns but regrets that it is “unable to accommodate” their proposals at this time.
Different port stakeholders including the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations (ACTOO), Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL), Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), and Container Depot Alliance of the Philippines (CDAP) have asked for the suspension of Executive Order (EO) No. TMT-029 series of 2019.
READ: Port stakeholders oppose Navotas truck ban as another supply chain ordeal
READ: CTAP joins chorus of opposition to Navotas truck ban
The Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA), on the other hand, has requested for a traffic rerouting plan with a designated 24-hour single lane for trucks.
The EO implements from January 1, 2020 a limited truck ban along C-3 Road, Road 10 (R-10), and North Bay Boulevard from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The truck ban aims to lessen the expected heavy traffic stemming from the construction of the Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 from C-3 Road to Road 10 and the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert on North Bay Boulevard.
Stakeholders, however, said the policy will significantly constrict the flow of trade and cause a repeat of the 2014 port congestion as the three covered roads are “highly critical arteries in the delivery of goods in Luzon…”
Tiangco said that in issuing the EO, the city government “acted within the ambit of the general welfare clause under Republic Act No. 7160 [Local Government Code of the Philippines]…”
He added that the order is “not meant to cause economic disruption, but to protect the general welfare of our citizens.”
Tiangco said that while the limited truck ban “may seem to impede the flow of trade to some stakeholders passing through C-3, R-10 and North Bay Boulevard, it gives meaning to our 1987 Constitutional provision that states that the use of property bears a social function and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good.”
He also pointed out that had NLEX Corp., the concessionaire of the Harbor Link project, been able to complete the project, “there [would be] no need to impose the limited truck ban.”
AISL general manager Atty. Maximino Cruz, in a recent text message to PortCalls, said his organization will closely coordinate with trucking groups and reach out to concerned government agencies “for possible intercession noting the economic and commercial implications of the Navotas E.O.”
AISL, in its letter to Tiangco, said implementing the ban, albeit for a limited period, “will significantly constrict the flow of trade and deflate the economic momentum gained in the past months.”
It added that while the ban may ease traffic flow along those areas, “economic activity in many parts of Luzon will grind to a halt.”
“In the meantime, containers, laden and empty, [will] continue to pile up at the ports until yard utilization reaches unmanageable proportions. This brings back memories of 2014 and 2018 when the situation spiraled out of control and in complete disarray thus forcing the national government to step in,” AISL pointed out.
CDAP, in its letter, noted that “to alter the current complex transport and logistics network by banning the entry of cargo trucks in certain roads and time albeit limited in Navotas City will have major economic impact similar to the 2014 Manila truck ban.”
In 2014, the Manila city government had enforced a truck ban that congested Manila ports and impaired the supply chain for almost a year. In the latter part of 2018 to early 2019, Manila international terminals and container yards in Metro Manila had also experienced high utilizations due to several factors.
CTAP, in a letter, said the roads covered by the ban have multiple lanes, with trucks occupying only one lane; “hence the eventual contribution to the traffic problem by trucks of the aforesaid major roads is only minimal.” CTAP added that the number of trips per week by its members has actually declined to two trips due to the traffic gridlock.
Moreover, CTAP said that private cars have “sufficient and adequate alternative routes as compared to TH [trucks for hire]” and that public utility vehicles such as taxis, jeepneys, and buses can utilize secondary roads to alleviate traffic gridlock.
PLSA, in a letter, said that with truck turn-around times being reduced, truckers will be constrained to impose an increase in truck rates, which will eventually be passed on to consumers.
ACTOO also wrote that the ban “clashes with several policies issued by the national government agencies to address the issue of port congestion.”
While the Navotas truck ban may not be felt instantly this month as volume of shipments in Manila international terminals is typically low in January, historical data shows that the volume shoots up in the latter part of that month before the Chinese New Year. Volume slows again during the Chinese New Year but spikes anew in March. – Roumina Pablo
Kawawa kming mga mhhirap na driver, hnd kc nppansin qng anu naitulong nmin sa ekonomiya kc nga driver lng.
Tanung nbawasan po ba vulome ng traffic..? ako po 2x n naticketan ng truckban sa c3.5000k..tubos ..nagtatrabaho po kmi ng marangal bilang driver..24/7 po kmi nkikipag laban sa traffic.pila papasok ng pier..pila sa xray..pila plabas ng pier.bago po kami kumita…nasa smokey n ang vulome ng traffic usad pagong..mas priority mga private..vehicle.sa oras ng sikat ng araw.wlang nkabantay n traffic inforceeme ng navotas kaya..wlang bigayan..ang 12 am nsa smokey na ako..nagtitiis sa traffic aabutin kpa ng truckban hrs..tapos..maglalabasan kau mga navotas inforcer. .kung mkapanikit…mkiusap k ng maayos..wla cla pkialam..yan po ba sagot nyo para mabawasan ang traffic..bkit kmi mga driver nag papasan ng problema ng traffic sa lugar nyo..imbes n mag give way po sana kau..para hindi ng aabot ang volume ng traffic…mas binibigyan nyo ng priority ang malaking kompanya ng segment harbour link kesa sa mga..mahihirap n mga driver..
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