Truck ban alarms Peza, industry group

Ecozone firms urged to use Batangas port

THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (Peza) and the Federation of Philippines Industries (FPI) yesterday warned that the expanded daytime truck ban being implemented in Manila will only cripple businesses and likely result in a cut in the growth of exports and production, job losses and potential company closures should the scheme be continued.

On the sidelines of the Arangkada Forum yesterday, Peza Director General Lilia de Lima stressed that apart from exports, the new truck ban scheme might prompt companies, particularly those operating within the economic zones, to reduce production and reduce their people.

“I am very worried because if this goes on for another three days, it will be very bad, which could lead to suspension of work. If I’m a company that produces [items that will fill up] 200 trucks a day, where will I stock them? The best that I can do then is to lessen production,” De Lima said.

The new policy bans eight wheelers and vehicles with a gross weight of above 4,500 kilos from plying Manila’s streets between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. A temporary concession, however, was offered by the Manila city government, allowing trucks to ply streets between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. within the next six to eight months.

“The window is not enough, that’s why we’re also eyeing proposals and palliative solutions to resolve this,” she added.

De Lima cited as an example the HRD Group, whose five companies here in the country have total shipments of 400 40foot container vans daily.

“We will sit down with them because they are one of the most affected. Of their 400 container vans a day, probably only one fourth of those vans can go through [Manila] given the truck ban,” De Lima said.

Most affected are the ecozones within the Calabarzon area, which comprises about 80 percent of the total exports registered under Peza. Total exports coming out from this region alone stood at $77 million a day from some 800 companies that employ more than 200,000 workers.

De Lima said that she would now try to sit down with the Calabarzon ecozones to try to convince themand their shipping lines to transport their goods through the Batangas port. As an incentive, Peza has cut by 50 percent all the

fees for companies that will ship via the Batangas port, effective up to end this year.

“We are looking now at alternative ways. Most of these finished goods [coming from the ecozones] should ideally be shipped through the Batangas port,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, the FPI wrote to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada asking the city government to reconsider and to conduct a further study relative to the implementation of the truck ban as this would “seriously disrupt the vital flow of goods that sustain commercial operations.”

“It will cripple business and the economy, particularly considering the strategic location of the City of Manila relative to the Port of Manila as well as themanufacturing and commercial operations,” the FPI stated in its letter.

“Undeniably, night delivery will entail added costs as various businesses that usually operate only during daytime will now be constrained to operate in the evening to prepare and receive deliveries. This will cer- tainly affect the competitiveness of the local manufacturing industries that are struggling just to survive during these trying times,” the group stressed.

FPI added that night deliveries also come with increased cases of theft, pilferage and hijacking as experience showed. “Indeed the convenience of the riding public is as important as the movement of goods as this will affect the supply and demand in themarket,” FPI said.

According to FPI, it has sought audience with the office of Estrada so that its members’ concerns could be heard.

FPI, the umbrella organization of manufacturers and producers in the Philippines, is composed of 38 industry associations and 110 corporation members that are local manufacturers and producers of agricultural and food products; petroleum and petrochemical products; construction materials; packaging and paper; textile and garments; firearms; cars; motorcycles; medicine; lead acid batteries; chemicals; plastics; fertilizers; appliances; tobacco and cigarettes, among others.