President Benigno S. Aquino III listens to the briefing on the status of the volume of passengers by SWIPTS terminal manager Dir. Amante Salvador during the inspection on the security arrangements and facilities at the Southwest Integrated Provincial Transport System (SWIPTS) departure area at the Uniwide Coastal Mall in Baclaran, Parañaque City on Thursday (October 31, 2013) to ensure the safety of the passengers for the observance of the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day during the Visit to Major Terminals in Metro Manila for DOTC’s Undas 2013 “Oplan Ligtas Biyahe”. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Manila City government may have lifted its daytime truck ban but it insists the ban did not cause the port congestion.
Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno said the port congestion is due to the failures of national government agencies.
He said the national government is only using the city government of Manila as a scapegoat for its failures.
“Blame sila ng blame. Ang scapegoat Manila. Hindi inaamin ng national government yung mga iresponsableng tao doon sa iba’t-ibang ahensya ng gobyerno, na ang port congestion, before truck ban, ay meron na,” he said.
“With or without truck ban, you will have port congestion. Anong mga reasons? Inefficiency in different agencies. Maybe there’s a problem with BOC (Bureau of Customs), PPA (Philippine Ports Authority), DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications), or maybe there’s a problem with allowing green-plated trucks, for example LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board), he added.
Moreno also noted that the problem will persist because the Philippines is a net importer.
“Sasakyan ko yung mga ekonomista, sabi nila 5 is to 1.5, ibig sabihin import-driven country tayo. Limang container pumapasok, kulang-kulang dalawa ang lumalabas. May matitirang tatlong bakanteng container, eh nasaan ito?”
“Dati mayroong rules na ang shipping line is required to have a container yard. Alam mo anong ginawa? Yung port natin is punong-puno ng 22,000 empty containers. Naging container yard so nag-engage sa negosyo ng container yard ang port,” he said. (MNS)