Group: Port congestion could worsen over the holidays

MANLA, Philippines - A multi-sector group warned on Tuesday that congestion at the Port of Manila could reach 107 percent by January 5 unless preemptive measures are taken.

Ernesto Ordoñez, chair of the Port Congestion Multi-Sectoral Group (PC-MWG) told reporters in Makati that consumers should be worried about being able to buy enough products in stores by January since congestion can balloon to at least 106 percent, or levels which actually exceed port congestion records set during the Manila truck ban over the holidays.

“If we do not take preemptive action, we will see congested ports again,” Ordonez said.

Ordonez said that during the last weekend, the private sector took the expected path of moving cargo at a slower rate than during the weekdays.

He said port congestion worsened from 80 percent to 86 percent at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and from 74 percent to 91 percent at the South Harbor Terminal, far from the ideal port utilization level of 70 percent. This has prompted calls from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for importers to expedite the movement of their cargoes.

“If measures are not taken by both private organizations and the government, port congestion will be at 107 percent by January 5. This is even worse than what we had at the height of the Manila truck ban where congestion was at 105 percent,” Ordonez said.

Ordoñez said that a study commissioned by the joint House Committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development estimated that the economy lost P2.5 billion a day during the Manila truck ban.

“The PC-MWG’s estimates are derived from the data provided by the Manila International Container Terminal where port congestion increased by 3% a day during the last weekend. Assuming the same slow movement of goods during the holidays, port congestion will likely reach 107 percent by the end of the holidays,” said Ordoñez.

“Excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas, as well as New Year’s Eve and New Year, there are nine days during this season when the private sector will move the cargo as slow as they do during the weekends. If this happens, there will be a 27-percent increase in port congestion from 80 percent to 107 percent,” he added.

As a possible solution, Ordoñez proposes the following measures: streamlining of the Bureau of Internal Revenue accreditation process for importers, finding alternate space for empty container vans now parked at the Port of Manila, keep government offices that can help ease congestion problems at the port open except during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and for importers and cargo owners to continue operations and stop only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Earlier, the PC-MWG called on government to keep Roxas Boulevard open to trucks during the Christmas holiday period in a bid to decongest the Port of Manila and keep trucks and goods moving.

According to the group, any gains made in the bid to decongest the Manila Port have been "erased" by the truck ban on Roxas Boulevard.

"More than 30 percent of the commercial vehicles that use the ports ply Roxas Boulevard. And shutting down the highway to trucks during the holidays dramatically lowers the efficiency of trade to and from the ports. A single day's worth of truck ban along Roxas can actually erase many days of gains in terms of reducing port congestion," the group said in a statament.

Ordoñez said that of the 6,000 trucks that use the Port of Manila daily, 2,000 pass through Roxas Boulevard. Recently, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) re-imposed the ban for trucks on Roxas Boulevard to make way for the visit next month of Pope Francis to Manila.

The MMDA, last December 3, implemented a temporary truck ban along Roxas Boulevard in preparation for the holiday season and major events the Philippines is hosting in January next year.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino junked the group’s plea saying the lane allotted for trucks going to Port Area in Manila will be used instead as an alternative route for vehicles going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Tolentino said the truck ban aims to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis during the Christmas season, the visit of Pope Francis to the country in January as well as the hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.

The truck ban should have been implemented last August but the agency extended it to alleviate port congestion, Tolentino said.