<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The collapse of the said bridge was reportedly triggered by overloading. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Escudero said there\u2019s a need for a parallel review of policies in order to determine if these are still effective or there may be lapses in enforcement.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)\u2014the implementing agency of the project\u2014is conducting its own investigation into the collapse of the multibillion-peso bridge. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe must find out how the truck that reportedly weighed 102 tons was able to get on the bridge that has a 45-ton maximum capacity. I am certain that this is not an isolated incident, and a lot of overloaded trucks are able to go about their business without being flagged,\u201d the veteran legislator said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Section 6 of Republic Act 8794 or the Motor Vehicle User\u2019s Charge (MVUC) Act of 2000 specifies the penalty for overloading, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the MVUC imposed on trucks and trailers. The same section states that \u201cno axle load shall exceed 13,500 kilograms.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The DPWH, then Department of Transportation and Communications, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government issued a joint circular on November 19, 2001, laying out the mechanics of implementation and enforcement of the provisions on overloading and the maximum allowable gross vehicle weights, depending on the configuration of trucks or trailers, cognizant that overloaded trucks lead to unnecessary damage on national roads and bridges. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8794 was also issued on April 5, 2013, which stated, among others, that the DPWH shall install and operate weighbridge stations or portable weighing machines at strategic locations along national roads for purposes of the implementation of the provisions of the law against overloading. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The law also authorizes the DPWH to outsource to private contractors the operation of the weighbridge stations and portable weighing machines that should be in operation 24 hours a day, including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIlang weighbridges meron tayo? Ano ba \u2018yung weight capacity o load ng mga kalye at tulay na ginagawa natin? Nasusunod ba ito? Napapatupad ba ito? May weighbridge ba bago dumaan sa tulay na \u2018yun? Kung may weighbridge man na dinaanan \u2018yung truck baka pagkalampas sa weighbridge, kinargahan, naiba na \u2018yung timbang nun,\u201d the Senate President raised. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Based on data from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), close to 400,000 trucks and 55,802 trailers were registered from January to September of 2023. During the same period, the LTO recorded a total of 16,020 apprehensions based on axle overloading that resulted in penalty collections amounting to P32,012,810.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Senate chief said that there are easy and practical ways to prevent the overloading of trucks, such as prohibiting the installation of reinforcements on the bed of trucks or trailers.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A visual inspection of the trucks would already reveal if these have been reinforced and \u201cif there are reinforcements then it means the trucks are most likely overloaded every time they transport cargoes.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPinagbabawal dapat ng gobyerno, ng LTO na lagyan na anumang reinforcement ang bed ng mga truck para maiwasan automatically \u2018yung overloading ng mga truck at kung mangyayari man \u2018yun dapat managot \u2018yung mga may-ari ng truck,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Senate President also called for a determination of the load capacity of the roads and bridges plied by trucks, based on the thickness of the concrete used to pave them, \u201cbecause these have specified maximum weights that must be followed by the trucks.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are 8,899 national bridges across the country, spanning a total of 409,496 linear meters.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Under the 2025 General Appropriations Act, the DPWH has a significant amount of funding for the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of national roads and bridges. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Out of P1.048 trillion for its operations, P153.3 billion is for the asset preservation program; P104.7 billion for the network development program; P38.4 billion for bridge program; and P504 billion for the convergence and special support program.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOnce we start deliberations on the proposed 2026 spending plan of the DPWH and the DOTr (Department of Transportation) later this year, we will require an accounting of the expenses incurred as a result of infrastructure damaged due to overloading and the effectiveness of the policies and programs to prevent overloading,\u201d the Senate leader said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SENATE President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero has called for a comprehensive review of all trucks and trailers’ overloading laws and policies following the recent collapse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12501"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12515,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12501\/revisions\/12515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bridge-1024x675.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n