Group asks MMDA to keep Roxas Blvd open to trucks

MANILA, Philippines - A multi-sectoral group involved in port operations on Friday called on the government to keep Roxas Boulevard open to trucks during the Christmas holiday period in a bid to decongest the Port of Manila and keep trucks and goods moving.

"While there has been significant progress in the port problem, it's still being solved. We are grateful for efforts of groups and organizations that have addressed this problem. However, concerted action on the remaining challenges is crucial," said Ernesto Ordoñez, president of the Federation of Philippine Industries, which is an active participant in the Port Congestion Multi-Sectoral Working Group (PC-MWG).

According to the multi-sectoral group, any gains made in the bid to decongest the Manila Port have been "erased" by the truck ban on Roxas Boulevard.

"More than 30 percent of the commercial vehicles that use the ports ply Roxas Boulevard. And shutting down the higheay to trucks during the holidays dramatically lowers the efficiency of trade to and from the ports. A single day's worth of truck ban along Roxas can actually erase many days of gains in terms of reducing port congestion," the multi-sectoral group said in a statament.

Ordoñez said that of the 6,000 trucks that use the Port of Manila daily, 2,000 pass through Roxas Boulevard. Recently, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reimposed the ban for trucks on Roxas Boulevard to make way for the visit of Pope Francis to Manila in January.

Last December 3, the MMDA implemented a temporary truck ban along Roxas Boulevard in preparation for the holiday season and for major events that the Philippines is hosting in January next year.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the lane allotted for trucks going to Port Area in Manila will be used as alternative route for vehicles going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Tolentino said the truck ban aims to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis during the Christmas season, the visit of Pope Francis to the country in January as well as the hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.

The truck ban should have been implemented last August, but the agency extended it to alleviate port congestion, Tolentino said.

Tolentino said the agency would also impose a moratorium on roadwork and other construction activities in Metro Manila starting December 15.

Meanwhile, the multi-sectoral group aslo asked governemnt to find space for empty containers now parked at the port area.

"Empty containers are hindering the movement of goods. Empties parked at the port are clogging the movement of goods and they urgently need to be stored in alternative locations. Shipping lines should take responsibility for their containers by investing in more container yards and by taking on the costs of keeping container yards open so that trucks can unload the empties when they need to and in the most efficient manner," the group said in a statement.

The group also asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to restudy its position not to issue certificates of public convenience (CPCs) to trucks which are 15 years old.

"This LTFRB regulation effectively keeps 70 percent of all road-worthy trucks off the road, thereby hindering the flow of goods and keeping the economy from being competitive even as the country integrates with the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)," said Fernando Peña, who represents the Management Association of the Philippines in the PC-MWG.