Truck ban, farmers, fisherfolk

How does a truck ban affect inclusive growth? Simple. It significantly harms a significant number of poor farmers and fisherfolk.

Last Aug. 8, the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) chaired by Jesus Aranza organized a Truck Ban and Logistics Forum. Participants came from different industrial subsectors and other organizations such as Philexport, Philfoodex and Alyansa Agrikultura. Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo responded favorably to the forum recommendations. But since he was more associated with industry rather than agriculture, the impact on farmers and fisherfolk was not highlighted.

Present at this forum was a top Philippine food exporter. She sources fresh, frozen and processed fruits, vegetables, marine and meat products from provinces such as Pangasinan, Pampanga, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Davao.

She said: “Coping with infrastructure bottlenecks and a reasonable truck ban is manageable. But what is happening today is disastrous. An all-day truck ban imposed in February, coupled with severe port congestion and the sudden apprehension of “colorum” trucks without a transition period, has resulted in huge losses. This severely harms the farmers and fisherfolk who supply our products.”

What happened? Here is her narration of recent events.

1. In February, on top of the existing reasonable truck ban imposed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), a severe all-day truck ban was implemented in Manila. This resulted in the damaging delay of deliveries, an increase in the port cargo level from 39,000 to 90,000 containers, and a three-fold increase in turnaround time.

2. Though the Manila whole-day truck ban was lifted two weeks later, the congestion, backlog and queuing of ships at the port had reached extremely high levels. A new Manila ban was implemented, but still more stringent than the MMDA-approved scheme. After this, the Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchise Board (LTFRB) announced that it would apprehend “colorum” trucks (those with green or white instead of yellow plates) with a P200,000 fine.

3. A provisional permit for these “colorum” vehicles will expire on Aug. 15. Last week, many mayors did not honor this permit and apprehended several vehicles. After three days, this was settled in favor of respecting the LTFRB ruling. However, it raised the fear that in the future, some Metro Manila mayors might have their own truck ban and regulations that will deviate from the MMDA scheme and cause more difficulties.

Since then, as Domingo stated, the government has taken favorable action. He said that by Aug. 15, much of the problem will be solved.

Today, the truck ban and logistics bottlenecks are still felt. At the forum, this food exporter said that while she could reserve containers for her food products twice a week, there is a 75-percent decrease to only once every two weeks.

While she could arrange for ships to load these containers once a week, there is a 50-percent decrease to only twice a month. Furthermore, no specific date can be given because of the ships’ unpredictable long queuing time.

Other actions need to be undertaken. First, there is an official statement that the all-day Manila truck ban may once again be imposed this month. Having seen its disastrous effects, this should be shelved. In addition, there should be a rationalized and synchronized MMDA truck ban approved by all Metro Manila mayors so that there will be a systemic and disciplined approach to this problem.

Second, when government imposes deadlines, it should be done with a transition period based on a responsible time and motion study. According to the Confederation of Trucker Associations of the Philippines, it is impossible for the government to finish processing the provisional permits for the colorum trucks in time for the announced deadline of Aug. 15.

Similarly, a reasonable time frame should be given to implement the announced phaseout of all trucks over 15 years, which forum participants said constitute 90 percent of all our trucks. If government action is not guided by thorough study, the solution might be worse than the problem.

In all of this, farmers and fisherfolk significantly suffer from well-intentioned but ill-planned government initiatives.

(The author is chair of Agriwatch, former Secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects, and former Undersecretary for Agriculture, Trade and Industry. For inquiries and suggestions, email [email protected] or telefax (02) 8522112).