Anti-overloading law now enforced in Pampanga

    790
    0
    SHARE

    CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – In the aftermath of a bridge that collapsed and  statistics showing significant overloading along the San Fernando-Olongapo here, Gov. Lilia Pineda, other government officials and truckers has finally strictly enforced the anti-overloading law that was passed way back 12 years ago.

    Some 12 trucks were reportedly held in various parts of this province yesterday after “weighbridges” and portable weighing stations indicated they exceeded 13,500 kilograms per axle limit. The truckers, under a new local agreement, shouldered the P30 cost for each weighing.

    Arthur Punsalan, head of the provincial environment and natural resources office, said “all stakeholders have come together to enforce as far as practicable the provisions of Republic Act 8794.”

    In November last year, the Colgante bridge in Apalit, Pampanga, collapsed as three loaded dump trucks passed over it. The bridge was along a major route to Macabebe town.

    This, amid a study of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) indicating that the San Fernando-Olongapo Road in Pampanga has an  average overloading of eight to 16 percent, one of the highest in the country.

    Pineda said the strict enforcement of the anti-overloading law was the result of the signing last week of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) among the provincial government, represented by Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao, officials of the DPWH, Land Transportation Office (LTO), Philippine National Police (PNP), Pampanga Truck Owners Association (PTOA), and the Pampanga Mayors League (PML).

    Punsalan also cited studies indicating that damage to roads due to overloading nationwide amounts to some P20 billion and that for the maintenance of some 30,000 kilometers of roads all over the country, the government spends no less than P13.5 billion.

    Most trucks negotiating roads in Pampanga are loaded with lahar sand which is in demand in the construction industry in Metro Manila, so that most of the routes damaged by overloading are on the lanes used by loaded trucks on their way back to the metropolis.

    Guiao described the MOA signing as “historic” because “it was done in the interest of all stakeholders and for the residents of Pampanga”.

    He said the provincial government provided the weighing scales now stationed at “strategic areas where trucks may be monitored for compliance to the law.”

    “The province shall also operate the weighing scales and ensure that these are maintained in accordance with the standards imposed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST),” he added.

    Guiao said DPWH personnel operate the weighbridges and portable weighing stations, while those from the LTO and the police enforce other provisions of the anti-overloading law, including barring the overloaded trucks from traveling on and imposing fines.

    RA No. 8794 has been a law since 2000, and it empowered the secretaries of the DPWH and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to come up with the implementing rules and regulations.

    However, it was only on Feb. 1, 2011 that the DPWH issued a public advisory on its implementation amid controversies on whether to weigh according to gross vehicle weight or weight per axle.

    With this controversy unresolved, the DPWH stressed that “the restriction on the allowable vehicle axle load of 13,500 kilograms shall be continuously enforced.”

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here