The bigger picture

Last week, German companies operating in the country issued a statement calling for the lifting of the truck ban being implemented in the city of Manila. German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry general manager Nadine Fund wrote to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and urged him to lift the truck ban, citing the impact on their businesses.

This is happening, Fund noted, at a time German businessmen are increasing their investments in the Philippines. Germany is a key partner of the Philippines with bilateral trade volume reaching €3.81 billion in 2012.

The International Container Terminal Services Inc., operator of the Manila North Harbor, earlier warned the country’s economic growth would likely slow down due to the daytime truck ban imposed by the city government of Manila.

Likewise, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Federation of Philippine Industries in Manila expressed concern the truck ban may cripple businesses and potentially cut into growth due to its impact on exports and production and eventual job losses due to company closures.

The German business group was the latest to raise howl over the local ordinance that the former president and now Manila mayor enforced as the latest city government measure to untangle the traffic mess in the capital.

Under the daytime truck ban, empty trucks are banned from major roads in Manila from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. The truck drivers were given a window from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can also travel in Manila from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Loaded trucks are exempted from the daytime truck ban. The vehicles covered by the daytime truck ban include 8-wheeler trucks with gross weight of 4,500 kilograms. The daytime truck ban ordinance also provided new routes for trucks.

Manila began implementing a new truck ban as a compromise after intense objections and pressure from traders and the trucking operators association. Truckers even declared “truck holiday” for three days last month.

Customs commissioner John Sevilla estimated the three-day “truck holiday” in protest of the expanded truck ban reduced collections of the agency by P100 million to P150 million. Malacañang stepped into the picture and tried to broker a compromise between Manila city government and the truckers and business groups.

The strike was lifted after Mayor Estrada offered a compromise that would permit use of the city roads by trucks over longer daytime hours. Truckers, however, were still groaning over this compromise, citing their reduced income with lesser turnaround for their deliveries in a day.

Truck ban is not a new regulation. In fact, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) imposed a modified uniform truck ban regulation in the entire metropolis from December 7, 2012 until July 6, 2013. Under this modified regulation, truck ban hours were from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sundays and holidays.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino justified the extension, citing it supposedly proved the modified uniform truck ban was successful and eased the traffic situation in Metro Manila. Before the extension period ended, Tolentino was optimistic the MM Council would have already come up with a unified truck ban regulation in all affected streets and major thoroughfares in Metro Manila to complement various traffic improvement schemes being undertaken by the MMDA. But nothing happened.

Also, Estrada’s bus terminal policy that was initially resisted has been making traffic flow in Manila less tedious these days.

Now that Estrada is mayor, the City Council of Manila passed the ordinance as later amended under the compromise. The respective city councils of Caloocan and Parañaque have followed suit to pass similar ordinances. Obviously, Manila’s lead to impose this modified daytime truck ban and bus terminal policy are helping improve traffic situation and help reduce unquantifiable economic wastes due to lost man-hours not to mention gasoline consumption.

The state-run Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) adopted remedial measures to further reduce vehicular traffic in and out of the Manila ports even during daytime truck ban. PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana announced the measures are expected to substantially reduce the truckers’ turnaround time, enabling import and export container deliveries to be delivered faster and more efficiently to and from the ports of Manila and private manufacturing warehouses.

The Customs Bureau also is doing its share to help by adopting administrative measures like allowing agency personnel to render overtime services at night to accommodate night deliveries.

Pitching for the Estrada’s truck ban, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia offered the readiness of Subic Bay Freeport in handling cargo from Manila bound for Northern/Central Luzon and vice versa. In a letter sent to the Manila mayor, the SBMA chief cited the Subic Freeport has a brand new world-class container terminal with a capacity to handle 600,000 containers a year. “Regrettably, this port serviced only 38,000 containers in 2013 or a mere 6 percent rate of port utilization,” Garcia rued.

Garcia cited a study done by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that showed 2.8 million containers enter the port of Manila. Of this total, 450,000 containers are destined (imported) or originate (exported) from Central and Northern Luzon. Garcia said Subic Freeport can accommodate this entire load of “containers that unnecessarily pass thru Manila.”

Mayor Estrada agrees with the SBMA chief and added the JICA-funded Batangas port – which like Subic Freeport is also under-utilized – as another alternative port. With the present congestion and delays and higher costs of shipping thru Manila, both shipping lines and shippers may have no choice but to use Subic and Batangas ports.

Even while he was President, Mr. Estrada strictly adhered “to do the greatest good for the greatest number” as guiding principle for policy-making. As mayor of Manila, he sees the benefits from the expanded truck ban will not only redound to Manileños but for the entire country.

The only way to resolve the messy traffic problem in Metro Manila is to look at the bigger picture and to implement solutions, with political will and all hands on deck.