QC Mayor Herbert Bautista: Manila truck ban not good for rest of Metro

Once again, Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista is not too sold on the traffic scheme being devised by his neighbors in Manila.

Bautista on Tuesday took a swipe at the expanded truck ban set to be implemented in Manila, saying officials of local government units should not be “parochial” in thinking and instead consider the impact of their plans on the rest of the metropolis.

Bautista made his sentiments known after attending a meeting called by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday to discuss the Manila truck ban. Officials from three more cities joined the meeting, but the one invited from Manila—Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso—was a no-show.

“Maybe for them (it’s a good idea). But for Metro Manila, I don’t think so,” Bautista told reporters. The Quezon City mayor chairs the traffic committee of the Metro Manila Council, the policymaking body of the MMDA.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino presided over the meeting, which also gathered officials from trucking associations and other groups in the cargo moving industry, to thresh out issues arising from Manila’s truck ban which will be implemented on Feb. 24.

Announced last week by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, the new measure bars eight-wheel trucks and vehicles with gross weight of 4,500 kilograms and above from the road from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., except Sundays and holidays.

The MMDA has a separate, metrowide truck ban from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“I’m espousing the sentiments of the truckers,” Bautista said. “It’s similar to the bus ban (which was implemented by Manila last year). We were surprised. We shouldn’t be parochial in making policies. We have to look at the effects on the whole of Metro Manila and the economy.”

Shortly after Manila started regulating the entry of buses in July 2013, Bautista was the first mayor to publicly complain about the resulting traffic jams and other inconveniences for thousands of commuters in his part of the capital, particularly on Quezon Avenue.

“They can do anything they want but please make sure that every system here in Metro Manila will function as it’s supposed to function,” Bautista added.

Reached for comment, Domagoso said: “They are entitled to their comments. As far as we are concerned, we have a law here in Manila. We’re busy planning its implementation on Feb. 24 as per the directive of President-Mayor Erap Estrada.”

“The City of Manila is being run by President-Mayor Erap Estrada. We’re solving our own problems. We don’t meddle or intervene with the policies of other cities,” Domagoso said in a phone interview.

Also present in Tuesday’s meeting were Marikina City Mayor Del de Guzman, Las Piñas City Vice Mayor Luis Bustamante and Valenzuela City Councilor Lorena Natividad-Borja.

De Guzman said “we will try to come up with a compromise acceptable to all sectors” in the Traffic Management Summit to be held by the MMDA on Feb. 13 and 14. The summit will discuss not only the truck ban but also the upcoming infrastructure projects and the recently approved changes in the academic calendar of top universities.

“Whatever is agreed upon in that summit becomes policy of the entire Metropolitan Council, and Manila is part of the council,” Bautista stressed.

Earlier, the Aduana Business Club Inc., Asian Terminals Inc., and the Philippine Ports Authority-Manila International Container Terminal warned that the truck ban could lead to congestion at the ports, delay the delivery of raw materials and ultimately hurt businesses and the national economy.