Port of Manila’s situation improved – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - The decongestion of the Port of Manila is progressing, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

Citing records from the Department of Transportation and Communications, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a text message that from Sept. 8 to 23, 55,446 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs or a ship’s cargo carrying capacity) arrived at the port while 60,792 TEUs had gone out.

She said these figures would show an improved situation in the Port of Manila. Additionally, Valte said there were 727 TEUs hauled to Cabuyao, Laguna and to the Negros Navigation Co. Inc. facility.

“These were containers that were laden with goods, and were given clearance to leave the port premises but remained unclaimed,” Valte said.

She said they would continue to provide updates on the ongoing port decongestion.

Efforts to decongest the port have initially caused massive traffic gridlocks especially along North Luzon Expressway. The congestion has also affected the supply chain of some goods, which officials said could hurt the economy in the short and long run.

Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the port must be cleared within September and October in anticipation of the increased volume of imports that would come in the last three months of the year.

By Oct. 1, all containers that were cleared by the Philippine Ports Authority and the Bureau of Customs should leave the port within five days or their owners would be charged P5,000 a day for failing to pull out.

Almendras said it was probably cheaper to leave the containers inside the ports rather than occupy a warehouse in Metro Manila and so the businessmen and truckers opted not to pull them out promptly.