Truckers go on ‘indefinite’ holiday

MANILA, Philippines - Truckers, forwarders and brokers staged yesterday an indefinite “stakeholders’ holiday” and called on the national government to intervene and lift Manila’s daytime truck ban.

Mary Zapata, president of the Aduana Business Club, said that with the importation of goods expected to peak by next month, the ban will only make it difficult for them to transport the goods to and from the the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port.

She said the holiday – which started at around 8 a.m. – was a “spontaneous” activity, in which those who decided to participate kept their trucks parked in the ports or in their garages. The move has reportedly paralyzed the operation of the Manila South Harbor.

“We expect more shipping containers to arrive in the country” as the peak season starts next month, Zapata said in a statement.

She demanded that they be allowed to transport goods at any hour or at least go back to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority truck ban policy, which she said would allow them more travel time, compared to Manila’s Ordinance 8336.

The ordinance prohibits trucks – with the exemption of those delivering fuel and perishable goods – from traveling Manila’s streets from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Zapata also wants towing service personnel to be “more professional” in their conduct, that one lane of Roxas Boulevard to be dedicated to trucks, and for trucks with empty shipping containers be allowed to travel at the same time as loaded trucks.

‘Futile’ effort

When asked if the group is directing the demands to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Zapata said this would be a “futile” effort. They are hoping to catch the attention of the national government, she said.

They hope that government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transportation and Communications, Philippine Ports Authority and the Department of Interior and Local Government will intervene in their behalf.

When asked when they would call off the group’s stakeholders’ holiday, Zapata said they will assess the situation on a day-to-day basis.

‘Selfish’

Estrada, on the other hand, said he will not bow to the pressure exerted by the group, calling its members “selfish.”

“They do not think of the interest of the greater good for the greatest number of people. We are implementing the daytime truck ban for the sake of students, teachers, workers and other people traveling in Manila,” he told The STAR.

Estrada said he will not initiate any meeting with the group, “but if they will take the step to meet me, I will still attend to them. They have to adjust. It doesn’t bother me at all. It is just a matter of adjusting to the daytime truck ban and forgetting their selfish interest.”

The truckers may have to wait to meet with Estrada, who is flying to Hong Kong today to personally apologize to Hong Kong authorities for the Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed by a disgruntled policeman in 2010.

Estrada said he hopes to meet with the former Crown colony’s officials tomorrow and return to the Philippines the next day. – With Jose Rodel Clapano