Manila vice-mayor: Don't blame us for heavy metro traffic

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno on Wednesday defended anew the implementation of the truck ban, which stakeholders blame as the cause of traffic and slowdown in the economic activities in the city.

Moreno, who is Francisco Domagoso in real life, debunked insinuations that the truck ban in Manila caused massive economic problems when it increased traffic flow in major roads in the city and nearby cities.

“We want to address port congestion… We get the blame for the heavy traffic at C-5 Road, when it is not within (the jurisdiction of) Manila… we get blamed for the traffic even in Katipunan,” Moreno said during the hearing.

Moreno added that the local government merely wanted an orderly process of inbound and outbound truck operations within the areas surrounding the Port Area, to avoid heavy traffic and prevent further impact of the traffic into the local economy.

Moreno also slammed the claims of the truckers association led by Alberto Suansing, former head of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), for saying that the truck ban resulted in the port congestion as a domino-effect of the ban.

When it was his turn to speak, Moreno accused Suansing of lying when he claimed that the problems on additional cost for port fees and prices can be attributed to the Manila truck ban.

“I thought nobody will tell a lie in Senate, but until now, there’s somebody here telling a lie in the Senate. In front of you. In front of the honorable members of the committee. There are still people lying,” the vice mayor said.

“We are always being blamed for port congestion. Economic slowdown, price hike, lost jobs drivers. Traffic C-5, EDSA, Katipunan, di naman sa Manila,” Moreno added. He said even the lack of supply of chicken at a popular fastfood chain (Chickenjoy) in being blamed to Manila  truck ban.

“You can stay, but you behave,” Moreno told truckers and other stake holders.

Affected workers

During the hearing of the Senate committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship, Lilia de Lima, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, noted that there have been 20,000 ecozone workers affected by the temporary lay offs, reduced work weeks and forced leaves due to the port congestion.

De Lima reported that some companies have resorted to shipping by air, increasing shipping cost to five to 10 times more. Some companies have deferred their new and expansion plans in the country, she added.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the government is doing everything it can to address the problem caused by the port congestion in Manila.

Prior to the truck ban, Domingo reported that the Manila port can process 5,000 to 6,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) daily sometime January this year. “When trucks were unable to move out of the port because they are  not processed, the processing was reduced up to 3,500 TEUs/day."

Domingo said the North and South harbours have reached the designated capacity so “any wrinkle actually causes ingestion due to the truck ban.”

With the creation of the task force, Domingo said the ports are able to process as fast as possible and it continues to improve everyday.

“We need to prevent kinks everyday…because every time we have a one day delay, caused by storm, action by truckers or changes in the rules. Everyday of delay will cause another congestion of another three to seven days,” Domingo said.

Limited road capacity

Christian Martin Gonzalez, chairman and president of the International Container Terminal Services Inc, pointed to issues on yard and road capacities.

“What drives the capacity in Manila is the limitation on the road… despite the best intentions of everyone in bringing the traffic down,” Gonzalez said.

The ICTSI is eyeing the rehabilitation of the railways from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba, Laguna so that these can be used to transport container vans to the areas in the Southern Tagalog region, officials noted.

Anti-colorum campaign

Winston Ginez, chairman of the LTFRB, cited the anti-colorum campaign of the agency in addressing truck concern issues. Senators slammed Ginez over the issuance of provisional authorities for trucks which ply the metro’s streets without permits.

Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Senate trade committee, said the Senate will conduct another inquiry to determine if there are positive developments that will arise from the implementation of continuous operations at the port during weekends for the next four weeks.

“The City of Manila is already doing a lot in terms of changing the regulations,” Aquino said after the hearng. Aquino noted that the additional two days of operations on weekends will speed up movement of container vans and the inbound and outbound operations inside the port.

Aquino recognized the need for government to implement long-term solution to solve the pork congestion problem-- a recommendation also aired by Doris Magsaysay-Ho, president and chief executive officer of the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation.

Sen. Sonny Angara manifested the need to call the representatives of the Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Economic Development Authority, Department of Health and Department of Agriculture to the next hearing.