EDITORIAL - Problem over?

The yards have been cleared of empty shipping containers, Malacañang said yesterday as it declared the congestion over in the Port of Manila.

Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, who heads the special Cabinet cluster on port decongestion, admitted that the problem took many months to resolve. Ship scheduling, handling of empty containers, and truck ban hours slowed down decongestion, he said. After the Christmas rush and long yuletide breaks, recovery was slowed down by more port holidays due to Typhoon Amang, the Feast of the Black Nazarene and the visit of Pope Francis.

The port paralysis disrupted supply chains not only in the Philippines but also in other countries. The congestion also led to horrid traffic at the height of the holiday rush as truckers turned roads around the port into a giant parking lot while they waited for hours to collect or deliver shipments. Exasperated investors added the chaos to their list of disincentives for doing business in this country.

It’s unclear if a major culprit earlier cited by Almendras in the congestion has been addressed. In early October last year, he had lamented that at the Manila port including the Bureau of Customs, “there is extortion outside, there is extortion inside, there is extortion on the roads… After this I can already write a handbook on extortion.” He said “facilitation fees” ranging from P500 to P2,500 were paid even for routine services that should not involve delays. Is there a long-term solution to this problem?

Cargo volume is still low at this time of the year, which surely contributed to the decongestion. Now the government must ensure that measures implemented to decongest the ports will be sustained. Cargo volume will begin picking up again within a few months. Having identified the causes of the congestion, the government must see to it that reforms are strictly implemented and sustained and the port chaos will not be repeated.