● The first phase of the government’s truck route mapping project–which covers National Capital Region, Region 3, and Region 4a–is complete
● The second phase is in limbo following suspension of US Agency for International Development funding
● Trade undersecretary for Supply Chain and Logistics Group Mary Jean Pacheco said though the project will proceed even without USAID assistance
● The project complies with Joint Administrative Order No. 24-01, which implements the executive order barring the collection of pass-through fees on national roads and urges local government units to suspend any form of fees on vehicles transporting goods
The first phase of the government’s truck route mapping project covering the National Capital Region, Region 3, and Region 4a is complete but the second phase is now in limbo.
The suspension of funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has halted the second phase, according to Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers chairman Samuel Bautista, formerly logistics lead of USAID’s Strengthening Private Enterprise for the Digital Economy (SPEED) project, in a recent chance interview.
The truck route mapping project, also named FreightMap+, was developed through the Strengthening Private Enterprise for the Digital Economy (SPEED) project. SPEED was affected by US President Donald Trump’s move earlier this year to suspend funding for programs under USAID.
Still, Trade undersecretary for Supply Chain and Logistics Group Mary Jean Pacheco during a panel discussion at United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines’ 1st Stakeholders’ Summit on April 23 said, “even without the USAID we’ll proceed with it…”
FreightMap+ will identify truck routes, local roads as well as logistics facilities, warehouses, ports, airports, and industrial zones connected to such roads; and roads covered by truck ban ordinances.
The project will help ensure efficient cargo movement, Pacheco said, echoing private sector sentiment.
The project complies with Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 24-01, which implements Executive Order (EO) No. 41 series of 2023. The EO, issued in 2023, bars collection of pass-through fees on national roads and urges local government units (LGUs) to suspend any form of fees on vehicles transporting goods, as outlined in Section 153 or 155 of Republic Act No. 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991.
To help implement the EO, the Department of Trade and Industry under the JAO must coordinate with manufacturers, retailers, and logistics service providers in identifying usual truck routes and the impacts of EO 41 while the Department of Transportation, in coordination with truckers’ associations, is tasked to define truck routes – from ports to export zones to manufacturing facilities.
The issuance of EO 41 is in response to long-standing complaints from stakeholders, especially truckers, about the collection of pass-through fees from cargo trucks by every LGU, especially in Metro Manila, that they pass on the way to their delivery destination, adding to their costs.
This was happening even when the Department of Interior and Local Government has consistently stated since 2006 — through eight memorandum circulars — that collecting pass-through fees is illegal, with the most recent one issued in 2018.
According to the President’s Report to the People 2022-2024, 40 LGUs have suspended the collection of pass-through fees as of June 21, 2024 in adherence to EO 41. – Roumina Pablo
