The Manila Times

Nueva Vizcaya gov slams LTO

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya: Gov. Carlos Padilla expressed dismay over the decision of a top official from the land transportation Office (LTO) TO STOP the operation against overloaded vehicles in Barangay Calitlitan in Aritao town this province.

Padilla said the strict enforcement of the Anti-Overloading Law in the province resumed last week with the assistance of the regional offices of the LTO, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“It is perplexing that the Anti-Overloading Law enforcers at the weighing bridge in Barangay Calitlitan in Aritao stopped their operations after a top official of the LTO issued an order,” the governor said.

Also an official of the Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council (CVRDC), Padilla described the top LTO official’s stoppage order as a “defiance of the recent decision of the Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council to intensify the enforcement of the Anti-Overloading Law in the region.”

Lamenting on the continuing practice of overloading among unscrupulous cargo trucks and haulers in Cagayan Valley, Padilla said the LTO top official’s order seems to have “overpowered the law of the republic.”

“What is our law? Is it the law of the republic or the law (order of stoppage) of the LTO,” the governor said in disgust.

Padilla noted that if these overloaded trucks continue plying the roads in Cagayan Valley, it will lead to huge expenses on the part of the government and will shorten the lifespan of roads and bridges along the national highway.

Citing Republic Act (RA) 8794, the governor said the limits on both the axle and the gross vehicle weight should be imposed strictly.

Under RA 8794, Padilla noted that a heavy vehicle violates the law if it exceeds the permissible single axle load of 13,500 kilograms or 13.5 metric tons or if it exceeds the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight.

The penalty for overloading at 25 percent of the motor vehicle user’s charge must also be imposed, he said.

RA 8794 mandates the DPWH, LTO and the PNP to implement the law nationwide by setting weight limits and weighing, ticketing and imposing fines and penalties, and providing security to the enforcement team, respectively.

During the recently held RDC meeting in Diadi town in this province, the DPWH reported that most of the cargo trucks and haulers passing the national highway in the past five years have violated the Anti-Overloading Law. Despite this, the agency said there were no apprehensions made and no penalties were imposed on the violators.

Regions

en-ph

2023-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281732683613104

The Manila Times