Executive Order 41 stopped the collection of pass-through fees, and urged the LGUs to suspend the collection of any form of fees upon all types of vehicles transporting goods. This will remove the extra charges that businesses have to spend every time their trucks go to their destinations, easily a 30 percent savings for businesses, which is seen reducing prices. In fact, a DTI official said that the permits and pass-through fees can add about P30,000 per year in additional expense for each truck.
It is a good thing that PBBM listened to the complaints of the truckers following the government’s focus to lower prices of goods. With one fell swoop, citizens can now enjoy an early Christmas bonanza of sorts due to the lower prices of products, thanks to EO 41.
For instance, in Manila, a truck is charged P2,000 per month, and those without the Manila stickers face the prospect of their trucks being impounded. In Pasig City, each truck has to pay P2,000 per sticker/per unit/year and without the sticker, the driver gets a traffic violation ticket with a P1,000 fine.
For trucks entering Muntinlupa, the fees are P250 per 10-wheeler truck and P150 per six-wheeler, which is payable quarterly, and without the sticker the fine is P2,000 or the truck is not allowed entry. For Cavite City, there is a P645 fee per unit per year with trucks being stopped by enforcers and forced to buy stickers.
In Caloocan City, the fee is P800 per unit yearly, and without the permit, the truck is impounded. To apply for a permit, each truck is asked to donate a 16-liter paint, while in San Simon, the entry fee is P300 with enforcers positioned at the exit.
The pass-through fees range from P300 per unit in Meycauayan, and San Simon, while in Marilao and Batangas, the charge is P200 per unit. In Laguna, the fee is P300 per unit per entry.
These entry and pass-through fees were tackled in a news forum over the weekend. For DTI Undersecretary for Communications Kim D. Lokin, the suspension of the LGU fees will promote ease of doing business, help local businesses lower the cost of doing business, and directly address consumers’ plight and sentiments to help lower the cost of goods.
“So that at the end of the day, when the product reaches them, the prices of goods become affordable. Kung hindi man po bumaba ay hindi naman po tataas,” Lokin said, thanking the President for issuing EO 41.
During the forum Rina Papa, the Vice President of the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organization (ACTOO), said the EO “is the very first good news we have received so far.” She also said they are usually recipients of bad news when it comes to transportation.
The truckers’ group wants to be part of the technical working group in the development of the EO’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR), with the trucking association wanting to consider not only national roads but also the roads that lead to business centers, manufacturing sites and warehouses.
We understand that the EO arose from the studies done by Trade Secretary Fred Pascual on the additional levies and impositions that businesses have to go through in their daily grind.
The said EO came about to help the government achieve its goal of being a champion in the “Ease of doing Business,” a key ingredient in enticing foreign investors to come here and set up their businesses. With the EO’s far-reaching trajectory in enticing foreign investors to come to the country, there is a glimmer of hope for the administration to be able to finally rope in more investments.
