Transport of goods costly despite roro network

The lack of roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) ports, weighing scales and container vans contribute to the high cost of transporting goods through the Strong Republic National Highway (SRNH), legislators said on Monday, Feb. 18.

The House Oversight Committee on Transportation learned about the problems hounding the ro-ro routes during the continuation of a committee hearing in an attempt to bring down the cost of transporting goods from Mindanao to Visayas and Luzon through ro-ro ports and vessels.

Former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that while the SRNH was launched in 2003 yet, it was given attention by the previous administration.

Arroyo said during the hearing that while there are applicants for ro-ro ports construction and operation of ro-ro vessels, the ro-ro system, laws and regulations must be improved to bring down the cost of transporting goods.

“On the issue of costs in the transport of goods, we found out that for those routes where ro-ro is more conventional, the (high) cost is not (because of) roro but the trucks,” Arroyo said.

This was raised by Bienvenido Basco, executive vice president of the Port Users Confederation of the Philippines Inc., who said a truckload of goods from Mindanao would reach Manila in three to four days using the western route, with a return trip taking the same number of days.

“In short, a truck is tied up to that particular cargo for six to seven days. That causes the cost to go up,” Basco said.

The committee also noted the comments of shipping companies that the fees for the use of weighing scales also add to the cost of transporting goods.