More congestion ahead

The year will open with prices of many goods going up as congestion in the Port of Manila continues, with a group warning that the problem is likely to get worse in January.

The Port Congestion Multi-Sectoral Group pointed to the return of the truck ban on Roxas Boulevard as one of the biggest reasons. About 2,000 of the 6,000 trucks that use the Port of Manila daily pass through Roxas Boulevard, according to the group.

Another reason cited by the group is a slowdown by importers in claiming their shipments at the port during the holidays. The newly declared non-working days for the visit of Pope Francis in January are expected to worsen the pileup.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority imposed the truck ban on Roxas Boulevard in an effort to ease traffic during the holiday season. Since the trucks aren’t being taken off the streets, however, the traffic jams have simply transferred to other roads.

Members of the multisectoral group warned that with port congestion hitting up to 107 percent in January, there could be a shortage of several goods. The group cited a study commissioned by the joint House committees on transportation and Metro Manila development, which showed that the truck ban first imposed by the Manila city government cost the economy an estimated P2.5 billion in daily losses.

Amid such reports, the city government had lifted the ban and allowed trucks to use one lane in each direction along Roxas Boulevard. Not long after, however, the MMDA reimposed the ban, wiping out the gains when it was lifted, the multisectoral group noted.

Traffic is awful during the holidays and the MMDA can be credited for trying to ease the problem. But this must be balanced with the need to speed up the traffic of goods in the country’s busiest port. A Cabinet cluster tasked by President Aquino to look into the problem reported that corruption and inefficient systems were among the biggest reasons for the slow cargo clearing. Having pinpointed the problems, there should be solutions soon, before the situation gets worse.