Truckers’ protest snarls NLEX traffic

Traffic in north Metro Manila was snarled for nearly five hours yesterday when some 300 trailer trucks blocked the entrance of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Caloocan City to protest the weight limit imposed by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC).

The protesting operators and drivers decided to temporarily call off their protest after a lengthy dialogue with Metro police chief Director Vidal Querol, who pleaded to them to also consider the plight of commuters stranded due to their blockade at the NLEX entrance.

"This is not a police problem anyway. I call upon the concerned government agencies to act on the truckers’ problem before it goes out of hand," Querol said.

But the MNTC remained pat on the required maximum weight of 13 tons per axle for trucks plying the NLEX.

Marlene Ochoa, MNTC director for corporate communications, told The STAR that the weight limit is imposed under Republic Act 8794 and that "to ignore the weight limit is to break the law."

"Apart from breaking the law (and prematurely deteriorate the expressway), we would be putting the safety of other motorists on the NLEX in jeopardy if we allow overloaded trucks," she said.

Ochoa said trucks and other heavy vehicles account for about 25 percent of vehicles passing through NLEX.

The MNTC has portable weighing scales deployed at random entry points. Trucks found overloaded are escorted to the nearest exit, while their drivers are issued violation tickets and their driver’s licenses confiscated.

The truckers began blocking the northbound lane of A. Bonifacio Avenue, a few hundred meters from the main NLEX tollgate, at about 8:30 a.m., said NLEX traffic control specialist Larry Olvena.

The blockade snarled traffic in the area, its tail reaching Dimasalang in Manila and the Cloverleaf market in Quezon City.

Informed about the blockade, Querol rushed to the scene and appealed to Ricky Papa, president of the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners’ Organizations (ACTOO), and fellow officer Teddy Gervacio to lift their blockade, which mainly affected innocent motorists.

"I told them that their actions have already reached the government agencies concerned so they must leave the place so motorists could pass the area," he said.

Querol said the truckers cannot pass the Tullahan and Meycauayan bridges in Bulacan, which can only accommodate five tons.

Papa and Gervacio later acceded to Querol’s plea. Escorted by police patrol cars, the blockading trucks went inside the NLEX and made a U-turn at the Malinta exit back to Balintawak and their final destination, the South Harbor.

"Temporary solution lang ang ginawa ko kanina. Tuloy-tuloy pa daw ang protest action nila hanggang malutas ang problema ng mga truckers (What I made was just a temporary solution. They said they would continue their protest action until the truckers’ problem is resolved)," Querol said.

Papa said they were demanding a moratorium of the MNTC’s anti-overloading policy in the supposed absence of clear rules implementing it.

Papa said truckers have nowhere to go with their only alternative, MacArthur Highway, long declared off-limits because of deteriorating bridges along the route.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) vowed to continue its dialogue with the ACTOO as well as the United Truckers Association of the Philippines and the Unyon ng Truckers sa Pantalan.

But DOTC Undersecretary for Land Transport Ricardo Alfonso defended the MNTC’s policy against overloaded trucks.

"Since last year, we have warned them already. We are being laughed at in the international community because we are not implementing our own laws on overloading," he said.

Alfonso said the MNTC has complained that several portions of the NLEX have deteriorated due to overloaded trucks.

Querol posted a monitoring team at NLEX entrance so they could react accordingly once the truckers make good their threat to resume their blockade. — With Ding Cervantes, Sandy Araneta and Cecille Suerte Felipe