Overloaded vehicles banned on nat'l roads starting Feb. 1

Starting February 1 this year, the government will strictly implement a law penalizing the overloading of trucks and other vehicles. "Effective February 1, 2011, the DPWH in coordination with the PNP [Philippine National Police] and the LTO [Land Transportation Office] will strictly enforce the Anti-Overloading provision of Republic Act 8794," the Department of Public Works and Highways said in an advisory on its website. It said the movement of freight trucks and trailers whose axle loads exceed the allowable vehicle axle load of 13,500 kg, or whose gross vehicle weight exceeds the maximum allowable — ranging from 16,880 to 41,000 kg — are prohibited on national roads. The public may get more information at 536-3477 or www.dpwh.gov.ph, the DPWH said. Last December, the DPWH declared a one-month moratorium on the full implementation of the Motor Vehicle Users Charge (MVUC) law after meeting with trucker groups. The stakeholders' dialogue was spearheaded by DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson and attended by the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines. Moratorium "Because of the important issues raised in the dialogue, instead of the scheduled full implementation of the anti-overloading operation on January 2010, the DPWH had given a one-month moratorium, (to be) able to have an ample time to coordinate with other concerned agencies. It is also expected that by February 01, 2010, strict implementation of anti-overloading shall be enforced," the DPWH said. Among the "critical issues" raised during the dialogue were the main causes of the overloaded freights and cargo from ports, processing and manufacturing facilities and aggregate processing facilities. During the stakeholders' meeting, the DPWH wooed the support of truckers to at least maintain the quality of roads by not overloading their trucks. “We cannot afford to do nothing about overloading, we want to upgrade the status of our national roads by 2016," Singson said during the meeting. Republic Act 8794 provides that trucks are prohibited from passing through national roads and bridges if their axle load exceeds the 13,500 kilograms per axle capacity limit and allowable computed gross vehicle weight (GVW). "An amount equivalent to twenty five percent (25%) of the MVUC shall be imposed on trucks and trailers for loading beyond their prescribed gross vehicle weight: provided that, no axle load shall exceed thirteen thousand five hundred kilograms (13,500 kgs)," Section 6 of the law said. Early road deterioration Singson said that based on the recent studies conducted by the DPWH, half of cargo trucks passing through the national roads are overloaded, resulting in the early deterioration of national roads. In a study conducted by the Australian Aid, 10 percent of overloading on national roads could cause 30-percent deterioration of road and bridge structures. “(We) must strictly comply on what is provided by the law, so we can effectively utilize the government funds to build the needed infrastructure," Singson said. While the DPWH receives P19 billion in Asset Preservation Fund through the collected charges under the MVUC, it needs P40 billion to maintain and preserve some 30,000 kilometers of roads. Putting the blame on overloading vehicles, the DPWH said the Philippines' International Roughness Index (IRI) is 6, which is considered as "Poor." The DPWH will conduct checking of gross vehicle weights of cargo trucks directly from the point of origin of the cargo. Singson also suggested to the cargo forwarders to include in their contracts with their clients that the penalty of excess load from the allowable limit shall be paid by the clients. — KBK/LBG, GMANews.TV