LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The Benguet Provincial Board has approved La Trinidad Municipal Ordinance No. 17-2026, regulating the entry and operation of excavation and hauling vehicles, as well as heavy equipment traveling along public roads.

The ordinance aims to protect road infrastructure and the environment, ensure motorist and public safety, and improve the management of construction-related transport operations across the municipality.

While recognizing the role of excavation and hauling vehicles in infrastructure development, local officials noted that these vehicles frequently damage roads and create public hazards by dropping sand, mud, rocks, and other construction debris along key thoroughfares.

Unregulated entry and operation of hauling vehicles in Benguet has long been tied to illegal small-scale mining, unpermitted real estate developments, and overloaded cargo fleets operating without municipal clearances.

Unsanctioned excavations stripped mountain slopes, causing mud and water runoff into residential valleys and clogging primary drainage channels.

Heavy trucks shifting weight over vulnerable terrain triggered localized land subsidence, sinkholes, and accelerated landslides during heavy rains.

Overloaded trucks also cracked asphalt and caused severe road cuts along narrow highways.