The Cebu Provincial Government is pushing to harmonize truck ban schedules across Metro Cebu to help ease traffic congestion and reduce delivery delays affecting businesses and logistics operators.
The proposal came after a series of meetings involving traffic managers and local government officials across Metro Cebu.
Under the proposed setup, trucks weighing more than 4,500 kilograms will be prohibited from passing through identified roads from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., covering peak travel hours for workers and students.
The policy forms part of an executive order issued by Governor Pamela Baricuatro regulating the movement of heavy vehicles in Cebu Province.
Elizar Sabinay, Executive Assistant V assigned to the Provincial Planning and Development Office and Investment Promotions, said the province aims to establish a more predictable and coordinated traffic system among Metro Cebu local government units.
“We’re looking at unifying the truck ban, but we can’t ask Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City to follow us, so we will be requesting them to hopefully merge with us,” Sabinay said.
Sabinay said municipalities under the province, including LGUs from Minglanilla to Naga, have already expressed support for the proposal.
He explained that the shortened morning restriction period was crafted after consultations with traffic officials and the logistics sector to minimize delays and operational losses among trucking companies.
Instead of implementing restrictions before dawn, the province settled on the 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. schedule to coincide with peak commuter movement.
“The reason for 6 to 8 is because that’s where the majority of students and young professionals are traveling,” Sabinay said.
The province is also banking on designated truck corridors to allow continuous cargo movement even during restricted hours.
Sabinay said truck corridors in Cebu City and Mandaue City will be linked to routes in Cordova, including the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), where trucks may pass 24 hours daily.
He added that Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King-Chan has expressed willingness to suspend the city’s truck ban to help complete the Metro Cebu truck corridor network.
“So now it becomes the loop of truck corridors — Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu and Cordova — where trucks can go 24/7,” Sabinay said.
Officials said the harmonized schedule could address long-standing complaints from truck operators over varying restrictions and penalties among LGUs, which often force drivers to stop multiple times before reaching their destinations.
Sabinay added that business groups welcomed the proposal, with industry estimates showing that truck delays currently add around 15 to 20 percent to operating expenses due to idle fuel consumption and extended driver hours.
“They’re very happy. In fact, one of the reactions is that it will lessen operational costs,” he said. (LLP)
Photo courtesy of Truck Deal
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