Lifting of Manila truck ban hailed, panned

MANILA, Philippines—Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel welcomed the Manila city government’s eight-day moratorium on its modified truck ban in preparation for the 23rd World Economic Forum (WEF) which the country is hosting this week.

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

However, a top official of the Department of Finance-attached agency dismissed the lifting of the truck ban as “just temporary relief.”

The official, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter, pointed out that BOC collections at the Port of Manila (POM) and the Manila International Container Port (MICP) were down by P100 million to P150 million per day due to the truck ban, which was imposed by Manila City Hall on Feb. 24.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada last week approved the request of Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson for a moratorium on the ban through Executive Order No. 49.

Under a Manila City ordinance, trucks with a gross vehicle weight of at least 4,500 kilograms are banned from plying the capital’s roads from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Negotiations prompted by a truck holiday led to the granting of a window between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. upon the intervention of business groups, truck operators and some government officials.

With the lifting of the modified truck ban, truckers are required to follow the policy implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, which prohibits truckers from plying their routes from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. every day, except Sundays and holidays.

In a May 12 press conference, Estrada said he found Singson’s request “compelling enough” to grant a moratorium.

However, he clarified that trucks would still not be allowed to park from Andres Bonifacio Street to Del Pan Bridge in the Port Area or any thoroughfare designated as a “No Parking” zone by the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau.

Insufficient time

The same customs official also expressed doubt the eight-day break would give the BOC enough time to decongest the Port Area before the international forum, scheduled from May 21 to 23, starts.

Container vans of imported goods have accumulated at the POM and MICP, two of the country’s biggest ports, as a result of the truck ban.

On May 8, Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla issued a directive extending the agency’s operating hours at the two ports to address the adverse effects of the truck ban on the bureau’s revenue collections.

In Customs Memorandum Order No. 09-2014, Sevilla said that aside from POM and MICP personnel, the agency’s X-ray units and the Management and Information System Technology Group will also be involved in the “needed extended operating hours.”

Last month, the POM and the MICP registered revenue shortfalls of P2.02 billion and P1.39 billion, respectively, according to a BOC report.

These brought to P6.9 billion and P6.08 billion the two ports’ accumulated revenue deficits during the first four months of the year.