Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has called for a thorough review of national truck and trailer overloading laws and policies, pointing to the recent collapse of the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Isabela Province as a potential red flag for enforcement issues.

Escudero noted in a statement that while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) conducts its own investigation into the incident, there must also be a parallel review of the country’s overloading guidelines to determine whether they remain effective or if there are lapses in implementation. The collapse on 2 February left four dead and six injured.

“We 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,” he said. “I am certain that this is not an isolated incident, and a lot of overloaded trucks can go about their business without being flagged."

Section 6 of Republic Act 8794, or the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) Act of 2000, stipulates that penalties for overloading are equivalent to 25 percent of the MVUC. The same law states that “no axle load shall exceed 13,500 kilograms.”

Under a joint circular issued on 19 November 2001 by the DPWH, then-Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, mechanics were laid out to curb overloading and regulate the allowable gross vehicle weights. A revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8794 was also released on 5 April 2013, mandating the DPWH to install weighbridge stations or portable weighing machines along national roads.

“Ilang weighbridges meron tayo? Ano ba ‘yung 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 ‘yun? Kung may weighbridge man na dinaanan ‘yung truck baka pagkalampas sa weighbridge, kinargahan, naiba na ‘yung timbang 'nun,” he asked.

(How many weighbridges do we have? What is the weight capacity or load limit of the roads and bridges we build? Are these being followed? Are they being enforced? Is there a weighbridge before crossing that bridge? If there was a weighbridge the truck passed through, maybe after passing the weighbridge, it was loaded and its weight changed)

Based on data from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), nearly 400,000 trucks and 55,802 trailers were registered from January to September 2023, with 16,020 apprehensions for axle overloading. That resulted in penalty collections amounting to P32,012,810.

Escudero pointed out that practical measures could help mitigate overloading, including prohibiting any form of reinforcements on a truck or trailer’s bed. He said such reinforcements often indicate that the truck is likely exceeding its allowable load.

“Pinagbabawal dapat ng gobyerno, ng LTO na lagyan na anumang reinforcement ang bed ng mga truck para maiwasan automatically ‘yung overloading ng mga truck at kung mangyayari man ‘yun dapat managot ‘yung mga may-ari ng truck,” he emphasized.

(The government, along with the LTO, should prohibit the installation of any reinforcements on the beds of trucks to automatically prevent truck overloading. If this happens, the truck owners should be held accountable)

He also highlighted the necessity of matching road and bridge weight limits with the thickness of concrete used in their construction. According to the DPWH, there are 8,899 national bridges spanning a total of 409,496 linear meters.

Under the 2025 General Appropriations Act, the DPWH has P1.048 trillion for its operations, including P153.3 billion for asset preservation, P104.7 billion for network development, P38.4 billion for bridges, and P504 billion for convergence and special support programs.

“Once we start deliberations on the proposed 2026 spending plan of the DPWH and the DOTr 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,” Escudero vowed. “We have to put a stop to these recurring expenses that could easily be avoided."