Erap asked to give 15-day grace period to truckers

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), truckers groups and the mayors of Quezon City, Parañaque,  and Pasay cities on Tuesday urged Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to allow the implementation of the city's truck ban without apprehensions for a period of 15 working days.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino, the truckers groups and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez met at the MMDA office Tuesday to try to figure out a way to resolve the conflict between the truckers groups and the Manila City government over the daytime truck ban.

Quezon City, Pasay and Parañaque which are adjacent to Manila are affected by the ban as some of their roads are being used by trucks along their routes.

Mayor Estrada earlier asked the operators and drivers of cargo trucks to give the daytime truck ban, which the city government started enforcing last Monday morning, a chance to prove its effectiveness within six months.

The daytime truck ban runs Mondays to Saturdays from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a window period when trucks would be allowed to travel on Manila streets from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We are giving them a window from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. because this is an experimental implementation and because of the road repairs on Osmeña Highway,” Estrada said.

But according to the MMDA and the truckers groups and the mayors of Quezon City, Pasay and Parañaque, the truck ban should be implemented without apprehensions for 15 working days as it is considered as "experimental."

It would be recalled that in protest of the truck ban, the truckers staged a "truck holiday" that virtually stopped operations at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), South Harbor and the Manila North Harbor as truck owners and drivers stopped hauling cargo from the three ports.

"Ang request ay for the very important goods stored (at the ports) be brought out para hindi maabala ang mga negosyo. Nananawagan din ang mga truckers at iba pang mga sektor na tutal ay experimetal pa lang naman ito, ay i-test ito ng walang apprehensions for 15 working days at gagamiting window hours ang Manila ordinance," Bautista said.

Bautista added that trucks caught in Maniala's streets outside of the window hours will be apprehended.