BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) - - Governor Carlos Padilla here has expressed his dismay over the sudden halt of operations among concerned government agencies on the Anti-Overloading Law.

He said the enforcement of the law resumed in Nueva Vizcaya two days ago with the assistance of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Land Transportation  Office (LTO) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Padilla said 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, an official of the Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council (RDC), said the LTO top official’s stoppage order is a defiance on the recent decision of the regional development body  to intensify the enforcement of the Anti-Overloading Law in Cagayan Valley.

“What is our law? Is it the law of the Republic or the law of the LTO?”, Padilla said.

He lamented that the continuing practice of overloading among cargo trucks and haulers in Cagayan Valley will bring more huge expenses on the government due to the destruction of roads and bridges along the national highway and its major contribution to the occurrence of heavy traffic among commuters.

Republic Act 8794 imposes both axle and Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) limit: A heavy vehicle violates the law if it exceeds the permissible Single Axle Load of 13,500 Kg or 13.5 Metric Tons or exceeds the maximum allowable GVW, Both Axle and GVW limits must be met to be compliant and Penalty for overloading  is 25 percent of the Motor Vechicle User’s Charge (MVUC).

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

The DPWH during the recent RDC meeting reported that most of the cargo trucks and haulers passing the national highway in the past 5 years have violated the Anti-Overloading Law.

It said however that no apprehensions were made and penalties were given to the violators.

The DPWH said the Batu Ferry Bridge in Bambang town and the Consuelo Bridge in Sta. Fe town in Nueva Vizcaya are only good for 15 ton and 38 ton capacities  contrary to the weights of cargo trucks and haulers plying the national highway.

In a letter dated January 13, 2023 to Isabela Governor Rodito Albano and RDC Chairman,  Jennifer Jane Go, vice president of the Asset Management Division of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) expressed their appreciation on the decision of the council to support and enforce the Anti-Overloading Vehicle Program (AOVP) to further ensure the safety of the people and to preserve the region’s roads and bridges .(OTB/BME/PIA Region 2)