DPWH to require highway travel permit for trucks, trailers

CEBU, Philippines —  The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will start requiring trucks and trailers transiting through the country's highways and national roads to get highway travel permits or HTPs.

In a public advisory issued last April 30, the DPWH said that the requirement to secure HTPs will be limited to trucks and trailers carrying special or inseparable cargoes, and those with configurations not included in the Maximum Allowable Gross Vehicle Weight (MAGVW) Matrix under the latest Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 8794 or the Motor Vehicle Users Charge (MVUC) Law.

The requirement to get HTPs for trucks and trailers came after DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon issued Department Order No. 53 last April 14 laying down the "Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of DPWH Anti-Truck Overloading Operations".

The policy guidelines mainly established the DPWH framework for the conduct of truck-weighing operations to monitor overloaded vehicles, prevent premature deterioration of roads and bridges, and regulate the movement of vehicles requiring special clearance through the issuance of the HTP.

The DPWH, in implementing the Anti-Truck Overloading Operations effort, aims to effectively address the problem of the continuous destruction of roads and bridges caused by rampant truck overloading.

The DPWH said it has installed permanent and mobile truck-weighing stations at strategic locations along national roads to monitor the movement of trucks, for the program.

"Initially, DPWH installed twenty-four (24) permanent weighbridge stations nationwide from 1976 to 1996. In 2011, the Anti-Truck Overloading Mobile Enforcement (ATOME) program was established and piloted in the National Capital Region (NCR). To date, seventeen (17) permanent weighbridge stations and twenty-four (24) ATOME stations nationwide were installed aiming to support and intensify the DPWH's campaign against overloaded trucks," DPWH said in the policy guidelines.

In the advisory, the DPWH said that applicants for HTPs should submit the required documents as indicated in the HTP application form at least one month prior to the scheduled date of transport; and they should secure separate HTPs from each concerned DPWH regional office, "corresponding to the route sections within their respective territorial jurisdictions". (CEBU NEWS)