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Phase 2 of the Unified Logistics Pass pilot implementation is underway, with full implementation of the system nationwide slated for next year
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In the second half of 2022, the Anti-Red Tape Authority will focus on implementing the program in three pilot areas
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The ULP is a single pass in the form of a QR code issued to cargo trucks to ensure unhampered flow of goods
Pilot implementation of the Unified Logistics Pass (ULP) is on its second phase, with full execution nationwide next year being targeted, according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
The second half of the year will be focused on implementing the program in the three pilot areas, namely Cavite Export Processing Zone, Clark Freeport Zone, and Subic Bay Freeport Zone, ARTA officer-in-charge and deputy director general Ernesto Perez said in a presentation during the National Truckers Assembly on July 7.
READ: Cavite, Subic, Clark ecozones pilot single pass for cargo trucks
ARTA will also continue to assess the pilot implementation of the ULP as well as determine and finalize the streamlined guidelines for the system. To track its sustainability, ARTA will institutionalize a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the project.
The nationwide rollout of the project will be in 2023, Perez said.
The ULP is a single pass in the form of a quick response (QR) code that will be issued to cargo trucks to ensure the unhampered flow of goods.
The system adopts a single registration scheme for trucking companies, and the QR code to be provided would be scanned and accepted by all government agencies, including local government units (LGUs), port authorities, and economic zones.
It is intended to eliminate the various permits, licenses, and pass-through stickers being required by economic zones, ports, and LGUs to facilitate movement and ease entry of cargo trucks into ports.
The project was officially launched in January with the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and joint memorandum circular (JMC) for the pilot implementation by various government agencies, port operators, and private sector partners.
Following the launching, Perez said ARTA and its partner agencies conducted ocular and training activities in the three pilot areas.
Several ports under the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) were initially part of the pilot implementation, but Perez said earlier that the ports authority had refused to adopt the ULP and sign the JMC, saying it already has a system in place.
Perez said ARTA is hoping the new PPA administration will be ready to accept the system.
In May, ULP went live in the three pilot areas, so did the application for the ULP QR code, allowing trucks to get their QR codes online.
On June 28, ARTA and ULP system creators Developers Connect Philippines Inc. (DevCon) formally turned over the ULP system to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Under the ULP MOA, once the system’s pilot implementation is completed, the LTFRB will become the owner and lead implementer of the ULP system. On May 16, the Department of Science and Technology-National Capital Region also formally turned over to the LTFRB 244 mobile devices and 344 powerbanks to be used in implementing the ULP. The mobile devices will be used to scan the QR codes.
The ULP is a migration from RapidPass, an online system developed by DevCon that was implemented in 2020 to give frontliners in the fight against COVID-19 and persons allowed outside their residences quick passage through checkpoints in Metro Manila during community quarantine periods.
The ULP is part of ARTA’s National Effort for the Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-related Agencies or Project NEHEMIA.
Launched in March 2020, Project NEHEMIA is a sector-based streamlining effort that involves capacity building with identified agencies and public hearings with stakeholders on existing and new regulations.
Logistics is one of five sectors included in the first phase of Project NEHEMIA. The project’s goal is to reduce within 52 weeks the time, cost, requirements, and procedures involved in government transactions in sectors of economic and social significance.
In October 2020, ARTA launched Project NEHEMIA for the logistics sector to integrate all the “sticker requirements” imposed on cargo trucks by concerned government agencies and LGUs. – Roumina Pablo
