BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan granted the request of cutflower and vegetable truckers for the exemption of additional trucks from the coverage of the city’s truck ban while waiting for the amendments to the truck ban ordinance pending with the local legislative body.
The local chief executive revealed that an additional 6 trucks of vegetable traders and 3 trucks of cutflower traders will also be exempted from the truck ban from February 9-14, 2018.
“We understand the plight of our cutflower and vegetable traders who must deliver their products to their markets on time thus the additional exemptions. Some of the truckers claimed they were not included in the earlier exemption thus these additional exemptions,” Domogan stressed.
Earlier, the vegetable truckers proposed that 10 trucks be exempted from the truck ban while the cutflower traders proposed 19 trucks not to be covered by the truck ban from February 9-14, 2018 or during the height of their delivery of flowers to the Metro Manila markets.
However, Domogan reminded the concerned traders and truckers to police their own ranks to avoid the alleged mass reproduction of the limited identification cards issued to them.
He warned the traders and truckers that once traffic enforcers uncover the unauthorized reproduction of the issued exemption documents, the local government will be constrained to cancel the exemption.
According to him, it would be unfair for traders and truckers who comply religiously with the granted exemption for unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of the exemptions by illegally reproducing the issued identification cards.
Domogan and La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda met with the concerned traders and truckers on the additional exemption to be granted by the local government to those not included in the initial exemption.
Under the city’s truck ban enshrined in Ordinance No. 05, series of 2017, trucks are not allowed to traverse the major roads in the city from 6 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 9 pm daily to effectively and efficiently address the worsening traffic congestions around the central business district area.
The local legislative body is still studying the proposed amendments to the existing truck ban after the implementation of the ban was questioned by the affected stakeholders due to its expected serious negative effect to the business sector of the city.
Traders and truckers from the La Trinidad vegetable trading post petitioned the local government to grant exemptions to their trucks bringing local agricultural produce from the region to the various markets in Metro Manila and the lowlands so as not to delay the delivery of basic goods to the intended customers around the country.
Initially, Domogan granted the exemption of some 30 trucks of local vegetable traders and some 7 trucks of cutflower traders that will be affected by the implementation of the truck ban from the coverage of the truck ban ordinance that took effect early last year.
By Dexter A. See
