DA, freight firms study impact of new truck rules

The Department of Agriculture is set to dialog with freight industry leaders regarding concerns about a possible disruption of food supply in Metro Manila due to new trucking guidelines that took effect last June 1.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dante S. Delima said he had met with industry stakeholders who claimed that the price of agricultural commodities, particularly rice, could go up by P1 per kilo because of the new guidelines.

Delima was referring to amendments to implementing rules of Republic Act No. 8794 or the anti-overloading law.

“We noted that the continued implementation of the new guidelines … will have an adverse effect on the supply and price of rice in the local market,” said Delima, who is also national rice program coordinator.

Under the new guidelines, a 22-wheeler truck that used to be allowed to carry about 700-800 sacks of rice per trip would now be limited to load only 480-530 sacks per trip.

“Strict implementation of the law will result in increasing the cost of freight, handling and storage, and worsen traffic conditions,” Delima said.

“There may not even be enough trailers and containers to move all the cargo because of the additional trips required to move them all,” he added.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala is scheduled to meet with industry representatives on July 15.

Earlier this month, party-list Rep. Arnel Ty (LPG Marketers’ Association) warned of looming food supply disruptions in Metro Manila because of the implementation of the law against overloading.

Ty, a member of the House committee on transportation, said in a statement that the rules reduced by 25 percent the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight—the combined weight of the vehicle itself and its cargo—of the largest trucks.

The curbs imply that a producer or manufacturer that used to move all of its intended cargo in just four trips, will now have to add an extra fifth trip to deliver the same batch, he said.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson had been quoted as saying that the anti-overloading provisions of RA 8794 were meant to ease the physical strain on roads and bridges, for which the government spends billions yearly on repair and maintenance.