‘Generals lobbied for lifting of truck ban’

MANILA, Philippines - Police and military officials operating trucking firms at Port Area, Manila had lobbied for the lifting of the truck ban in the capital, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno bared yesterday.

He told reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel news forum that high-ranking police officials often meddle in the arrest of truck drivers who violated traffic ordinance in Manila.

“They (generals) want us to clear the streets with tricycles, but allow the trucks to park in certain areas,” he said.

He added that these police officials have practically “cannibalized” the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau by pulling out policemen detailed in that office.

Moreno also observed that most of the trucks operated by military and police officials bear green plates, an indication that they have no franchise from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Moreno, however, declined to identify the military and police officials who own allegedly trucking firms that have not been cooperating with traffic management in the capital.

With the lifting of the truck ban last week, Moreno said Task Force Pantalan was activated to manage traffic in the roads leading to Port Area. However, the task force members armed with assault rifles are not really helping manage traffic.

“Members of the task force are often seen loitering at the Guapo Hotel,” Moreno bared.

Erap: Nothing to do with Jinggoy

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said yesterday that speculations that he lifted the truck ban because the active generals who own trucking firms have threatened to transfer his son, detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who is facing plunder charges over the pork barrel fund scam, to a more difficult detention facility is “farfetched.”

“It has nothing to do with that,” Estrada told The STAR in a telephone interview.

Estrada maintained that he lifted the truck ban because he does not want bloodshed between Task Force Pantalan members and the traffic enforcers and policemen who were implementing the truck ban.

He said the deployment of Task Force Pantalan members in full battle gear to the ports could trigger trouble.

“They might engage themselves in gunbattle because the two sides have policemen. I don’t want that to happen. The deployment of the heavily armed Task Force Pantalan personnel in full battle gear may provoke bloodshed,” Estrada explained.

He also said that the suspension of the truck ban is “indefinite” and intended to give the national government a free hand in managing traffic and decongesting the ports.

“If I see the traffic will worsen even if the truck ban is lifted, I could immediately implement it again. Let us see if they can decongest the Port Area,” he said.

MMDA: Light traffic in Port Area

Meanwhile, traffic at the Port Area was light during yesterday’s rush hour with the lifting of the truck ban, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.

But MMDA Traffic Discipline Office head Crisanto Saruca said that while the lifting of the truck ban was helpful, the impact on traffic flow still needs to be qualified.

The MMDA, he noted, would still have to conduct a vehicle count to determine exactly how the lifting of Manila’s truck ban has affected traffic flow at Port Area.

“We cannot yet evaluate the impact of the lifting of Manila’s truck ban. The Metro Manila Council will still need to meet about that,” Saruca added.

No effect yet in other cities

But local officials of the neighboring cities of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas said that they have not yet felt the effect of the truck ban lifting.

Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas are the common passing points of trucks going to the Port Area in Manila. The three cities are also home to truck depots and are straddling Dagat-dagatan Avenue, which had practically become a parking area for truck drivers waiting for the window hours or the period they are allowed to travel.

“So far, there is no effect in Caloocan City as far as the lifting of the truck ban in Manila is concerned. In the past, we have three lanes in Caloocan but when the trucks get to Manila, they only have one lane. So there is a tough gridlock in our city,” Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan said.

Malabon City welcomes any effort to solve the traffic problem, but the effect of the truck ban lifting in the city is also not yet felt.

The truck ban lifting also has no effect in the traffic woes in Navotas City, but the local government is closely monitoring the situation and is ready to take action if the situation calls for it, Navotas City public order and traffic management chief Nanie Calayag said.

“Actually the trucks are not really a problem because we have wider roads. But when traffic spills to Caloocan and Malabon, then inadvertently we are affected,” Calayag added.

The local government of Quezon City also wants to be clarified on the details of the lifting of the truck ban.

Elmo San Diego, head of Quezon City’s Department of Public Order and Safety, said he wants to know whether the lifting of the truck ban would be for the whole day or whether the past setup of allowing trucks to ply their routes only within certain periods during the day and night would be followed.

Local government officials from different cities of the metropolis are expected to meet today to discuss specific details of the truck ban lifting, he added.

But San Diego said the Quezon City government expects that the lifting of the truck ban would have a generally positive effect on traffic situations along major roads in the city. – With Mike Frialde, Rey Galupo, Reinir Padua, Non Alquitran, Jose Rodel Clapano