System-wide truck ban loosening needed

Though the Manila truck ban was lifted last Sept. 13, farmers and fisherfolk must now push for the lifting of similar truck bans in the other Metro Manila cities and municipalities.

After all, the Joint House Committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development reported that the Philippine economy loses P2.5 billion a day due to the truck ban and port congestion crisis.

This means that P450 billion in business was lost from February to August alone.

Manila importance

As the Manila’s port congestion worsened over the last six months, its effects increasingly got felt even in remote areas of the Philippines. Farmers and fisherfolk as far north as Ilocos and as far south as Davao saw their incomes drop and livelihoods threatened by the delayed delivery of their products.

For the consumers, prices started skyrocketing.

There were fears of inadequate supply of consumer products, especially as the Christmas season approaches. Ships could not come to Manila as scheduled.

As a result, more than 30,000 containers bound for our country were left in foreign ports such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung.

Our government has taken steps to address this crisis.

Owners are being warned that their overstaying cargoes will be shipped out at their expense, and storage charges increased by more than five times beyond a reasonable period.

But the most important factor was former President and current Mayor Joseph Estrada’s decision to lift the Manila truck ban and face complaints on the inevitable traffic increase.

A trade-off has to be made between saving jobs and public inconvenience. We believe Estrada took the right path, and hope the Manila City officials will follow his lead.

Manila is like the head of an octopus, where the octopus’ tentacles are similar to the adjoining municipalities. Kill the head, and the tentacles die. Strengthen the head, and the tentacles spring to life.

Half of all the international cargo goes to Metro Manila. The table below shows this cargo distribution:

Given the perishability of agriculture products, farmers and fisherfolk must now work closely with agribusinessmen who buy their products and Metro Manila mayors so that other cities and municipalities will also do away with the truck ban.

Spreading the benefits

It is imperative that the Metro Manila mayors take advantage of the new opportunity provided by the Manila truck ban lifting. Adjustments should now be made.

Take, for example, a one truck lane policy along C5 and Katipunan. This was approved last Aug. 22 by the Metropolitan Manila Council.

It states: “From Sept. 1, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015, the following rule will be implemented: Given the truck hours from Monday-Saturday, including Sundays and holidays, trucks shall only use the innermost lane along C5 and shall strictly observe the one-lane policy.”

This means that even during Sundays, holidays, and off-peak hours such as late at night, when there is scarcely any road traffic because of little work and school activity, trucks will still have to form into a long single line while the rest of the road is practically empty.

This is precisely the time when the ports can process shipments most quickly.

Since the Manila truck ban lifting will now allow the maximum movement in Manila, it should then be complemented with maximum movement in the arteries outside Manila like the C5 and Katipunan. It would be disappointing if the head is freed up but the tentacles constrained, especially when there is no impact on the already scarce traffic during this time.

Farmers and fisherfolk should join other producers to save jobs and increase incomes by asking the Metro Manila mayors to review and loosen their truck bans in order to complement the Manila truck ban lifting in a system-wide Metro Manila initiative.

Though this may mean a temporary inconvenience for the public, this will be a worthwhile price to pay in order to save jobs and livelihoods, at the same time bringing down the prices of goods to their normal levels.

(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).