Two of Manila''s largest ports are struggling with backlog created by an expanded truck ban enforced by the government on Monday, and worsened by truckers'' protests.
The ban was put in place to stop trucks and other vehicles weighing over 4,500kg from entering and traversing the city between 5:00am and 9:00pm. Now, the government has agreed on a window period from 10:00am to 3:00pm when the trucks are allowed to enter for the next six to eight months.
To help ease the backlog for stakeholders, the Port of Manila (POM) and the Manila International Container Port (MICP) will extend their operating hours and will be open until 9:00pm today (27 February) and tomorrow (28 February) and from 9:00am to 5:00pm on 1 March.
The Bureau of Customs said in statement today: “Depending on the volume of containers that needs to be released, the Bureau of Customs may further extend operations to Sunday. Additional examiners will be deployed, along with stand-by personnel complement from X-Ray Inspection, to expedite the release of cargo with paid customs duties and taxes.”
Manila’s ports and business have already suffered from the ban, which slowed the release of container vans. MICP was only able to release four on 24 February, while no container vans left POM. Usually, a daily average of 2,150 and 1,200 container vans pass through these ports every day.
According to the Bureau of Customs, both ports also reported a dramatic decline in daily revenue collections. MICP was only able to produce P262.8m (US5.9m), a 27% decrease, while POM dropped 47% to P134.4m (US$3m).
Truckers have agreed to resume operations, but the ban continues.
