Cabinet cluster agree on measures to decongest Port of Manila | SubicNewsLink

03 September 2014

Cabinet cluster agree on measures to decongest Port of Manila

Members of the Cabinet cluster for port decongestion, during a meeting on Tuesday morning, agreed on measures for the immediate decongestion of the Port of Manila, a Palace official has said.

In a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the President prioritizes the immediate resolution of the problem of congestion in the Port of Manila.

The cluster meeting agreed that effective September 8, all cargoes cleared by the Philippine Ports Authority and Bureau of Customs will be given five days to pull out of the Manila ports or they will be shipped out by the government to the Subic and/or Batangas ports.

It also agreed that effective October 1, all cargoes that have been cleared by port authorities but have failed to pull out within the prescribed five-day period will be charged a fine of P5,000 a day.

Coloma further said that the meeting reached a resolution on the implementation of a 24-hour last-mile truck routes for two weeks.

"Ang isang susi dito kasi ang pag-operate ng mga truckers kapag araw ng Linggo at Lunes ng umaga, so they can maximize the utilization of the 24-hour last-mile truck routes," he said, adding that the government will give incentives to truckers who will operate on Sundays.

These truckers will be tagged by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) so they can use the 24-hour last-mile truck routes, he said, explaining that with the last-mile routes, truckers can complete their trip, even during the truck ban.

Truck routes that will be open 24/7 include the Roxas Boulevard and Quirino Avenue truck lanes going to the south and the A. Bonifacio C3 to NLEX truck lanes going to the north.

The Cabinet cluster for port decongestion is composed of the respective heads of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the MMDA.

Joining them during Tuesday’s meeting were the respective heads of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the Bureau of Customs. (PCOO/PND)

http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=1751409661526

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