More oil tankers exempted from MMDA truck ban

MANILA, Philippines - In a bid to ensure a steady supply of oil and petroleum products in Metro Manila over the long holiday break, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has granted additional truck ban exemptions to seven oil and petroleum products suppliers.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the agency granted exemption permits from the truck ban to 100 tanker trucks of Petron, Total, Seaoil, Jetti and Fil Pride.

The MMDA had earlier granted truck ban exemptions to 146 tankers of Shell and Chevron, following the closure of the First Philippine Industrial Corp. oil pipeline.

Petroleum products needed by Metro Manila are primarily coursed through this pipeline.

However, according to the MMDA, truck ban exemptions were also given to the other oil firms to ensure that supply of oil and petroleum products will be stable.

“We will maintain the status quo on the exemptions of the 146 tankers of Shell and Chevron, which were directly affected by the closure. The additional exemptions for the other oil companies will help increase fuel supply in Metro Manila,” Tolentino said.

According to the Department of Energy, around 1.8 million liters of fuel demand could not be met by Shell and Chevron because of the pipeline closure.

Tolentino said the granting of additional exemptions was based on the volume of fuel demand not met by Shell and Chevron divided by the average lorry capacity.

Out of the 100 additional exemptions, 76 were issued to Petron, 14 for Total, six for Seaoil, and two each for Jetti and Fil Pride.

The allocation of the tankers to be exempted among the other oil companies was based on the percentage of their market share based on DOE statistics.

The exempted truck units will be issued individual certificates of exemption. The MMDA said the permits will not be applicable along Roxas Boulevard, Taft Avenue and EDSA and will be only be valid until Jan. 3 of next year.