Story & Photos by Patrick P. Tulfo
THE Used Trucks Rebuilders and Importers Association of the Philippines or U-TRIP held its very first rebuilt truck recently at the Metrotent, Metrowalk Pasig City, where its members which included G-Tecnica, GLC, Solid Machineries, Pioneer Trucks, Megaton, Mana Diesel, Firewolf and Max Edge Industrial Corp. to name a few, displayed their products.
UTRIP is an association composed of 25 companies that operates used truck rebuilding centers in Metro Manila. It is directly under the umbrella of the bigger Confederation of Truck Rebuilders and Importers Association of the Philippines (CTRIP), which is made up of close to 300 truck rebuilders nationwide.
But now, their industry is under threat as a new government policy, specifically the DTI-FTEB issued in July 2018 required the submission of emission test results of rebuilt/imported used trucks from their country of origin showing that they passed the Euro 4 standard set by the government before a Certificate of Authority to Import (CAI) covering imported used trucks are issued.
In his speech during the opening ceremony, UTRIP President Jaime Vicente lamented that if the policy is not repelled or changed, they may have only up to June 30 of this year to conduct their business. As he pointed out that the new imposition of the government is virtually impossible to comply with.
In response to the new requirements a series of talks were held between CTRIP and BOI/DTI-FTEB in order to thresh out issues. It was found out that obtaining emission test from their country of origin, especially CKDs or Completely Knocked- Down trucks, is almost impossible. In lieu of this, the DTI-FTEB said that the only alternative left is to accept the emission testing done by a domestic testing center duly accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
But it doesn’t end there, however as the suggestion can only be availed by truck rebuilders operating inside Freeport zones. Since their CKD trucks can be unloaded without the need of CAI as freeport zones are still classified as foreign territory.
CTRIP members are now in quandary about the suggestion as truck rebuilders operating outside Freeport zones cannot availthemselves of the services of domestic testing centers, because in accordance to Bureau of Customs regulations, imported used CKD trucks that do not have CAIs upon disembarking from the carrying vessel will be seized immediately.
The new requirement that orders the submission of emission test results before the issuance of CAIs is confusing to CTRIP members because, “if rebuilders are now required to import only CKD trucks that had passed government standards, then what is there to rebuild?” asked Vicente. “Isn’t this imposition utterly inconsistent with the very provision of section 2a of DAO [Department Administration Orer] 08-3, which capsulizes the program in this manner to read,” To assure the public that all rebuilt trucks are safe and roadworthy and meet the standards of emission” and section 2b” to develop technical and management expertise in truck rebuilding to pave the way for the rebuilding programs covering other type of vehicles?” he inquired.
UTRIP members assure buyers that that they are responsible safety conscious used truck rebuilders and only import CKD trucks from Japan, Europe and the US and transform them into completely built units (CBU). Most truck parts and components such as engine, transmission, suspension, brakes and electronically controlled components such as headlights, taillights, wipers, horns, GPS are replaced with brand-new ones even the tires if necessary.
The organization hopes that the government will consider bestowing rebuilt trucks their own classification which will be distinct from brand-new and used units. They also requested that pending the resolution of the matter, the DTI-FTEB resume the issuance of CAIs to duly accredited rebuilders, regardless of whether their rebuilding sites are inside or outside of free port zones.
Vicente couldn’t have said it better in his welcome remarks, ”Our trucks are amazingly priced at 30 to 50 percent cheaper than the SRP of its brand-new counterpart. Much like parents presenting their debutante daughter to the society, we seek to finally put in public consciousness. Our products could be a tool for nation building in general and most especially one, we Filipinos could proudly call our own.”
Image credits: Patrick P. Tulfo