Roxas Boulevard now open to trucks

MANILA, Philippines–Faced with the congestion problem in Manila ports which was adversely affecting the economy, the Metro Manila Council (MMC) issued a resolution on Monday allowing cargo trucks to use the innermost lane of Roxas Boulevard.

The council, the policy-making body made up of the 17 Metro mayors, agreed on the matter following a meeting with Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras who brought the problem to their attention.

In a four-page resolution, the MMC said that cargo and delivery trucks would be allowed to pass through a designated lane on the 7.6-kilometer-long Roxas Boulevard which stretches from Ermita in Manila to Parañaque City every day, except on Fridays.

The resolution signed by members of the MMC special traffic committee composed of Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez and Pasay Mayor Antonino Calixto would be effective from June 10 to December 10.

The committee, however, will review the effects of the new policy after three months.

Almendras said that congestion in the ports in Manila has worsened since December due to the country’s growing economy. The MMC resolution, however, attributed the problem to the Manila City government’s move starting in February to ban eight-wheeler trucks with a gross vehicle weight of at least 4,500 kilograms from plying the city’s streets from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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

“[The] ports of Manila are now at their capacity level due to the adjustments [made by] truckers to the Manila truck ordinance,” the resolution read.

According to the MMDA, an average of 79,850 trucks and 13,615 trailers ply the roads of Metro Manila on a daily basis.

Almendras said that before the World Economic Forum on East Asia held in Manila two weeks ago, a 24-hour special lane on Roxas Boulevard for trucks was opened in coordination with Mayor Joseph Estrada.

“It did not cause that much traffic on Roxas Boulevard,” he added although he noted that the city’s ports remained congested due to the huge volume of cargo containers that have yet to be unloaded.