Manila port congestion? Move to Subic, Batangas

Behind every crisis is opportunity. The economic drop that Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada caused by his citywide daytime truck ban in time could perk up the entire Mega Manila. That is, if national officials get their act together.

The truck ban was long due. For decades, dump and cargo trucks and container trailers have been wrecking city streets, clogging traffic, and dirtying the air. City hall derived no income from the haulers, while its road repair, traffic control, and public health bills mounted. Last Feb. Estrada forbade big vehicles from using his streets from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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PASA explains delays in balikbayan box deliveries

LOS ANGELES – In recent weeks, the delivery of balikbayan boxes to the Philippines has been encountering long delays, prompting the Pilipino American Shippers Association to reach out to tens of thousands of customers to explain the delays.

Joel P. Longares, one of the founders of PASA, an organization of balikbayan box forwarders in the United States, said the delivery of balikbayan boxes are experiencing from three to six week delays because of at least three reasons.

The first, Longares said, is the mandatory physical inspection of all balikbayan boxes by the Department of Homeland Security in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and other ports in the US. He said before the inspection was random with only those that show signs of suspicious cargo during the X-ray screening sent for physical inspection.

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Delays in the delivery of Balikbayan Boxes

Date: July 9, 2014

Subject: Delays in the delivery of Balikbayan Boxes

To: All our dear and valued Forex Cargo customers:

FOREX CARGO has time and again remains committed to provide the most efficient delivery services to our customers. This is how this company was established, and will continue to do so. However, in the recent months, factors beyond our control have been pushing our delivery schedule longer than usual.

First factor is the delay at the loading port of Long Beach/Los Angeles. Most of you by now, have either heard of or have already experienced delays in your previous shipments, due to the Examination Holds conducted by the US Customs and Border Protection. This examination, on the average adds two weeks to our delivery schedule. Not only does it delay the departure of the shipment, it likewise costs FOREX an average of $2500 per container, which we have been shouldering and never passed on to our agents nor to our customers.

The second and the bigger factor is the delay at the destination Port of Manila. As you are all aware of, Mayor Joseph Estrada enacted a truck ban on February 24, 2014 as a traffic-control measure within the city limits of Manila. “Eight-wheeled trucks and vehicles weighing more than 4,500 kilograms (10,000 pounds) are prohibited from Manila roads from 5:00 am to 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Monday to Saturday.” (Bloomberg – May 12, 2014).

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The problems with Manila and Jakarta ports

The port infrastructure in Southeast Asia is not evenly developed and this will be a problem if the much vaunted Asean Economic Community (AEC) is to come into effect by next year as planned.

The two worst affected ports among the major Asean nations are the Port of Manila in the Philippines and Indonesia’s main gateway, the Port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta.

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PPA sees normalization of Manila ports

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) expects operations at the Ports of Manila to normalize within the next four weeks as the government continues to pursue measures to resolve the congestion caused by the imposition of a day-time truck ban by the city government of Manila last February.

PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said in an interview with reporters that congestion at the Ports of Manila worsened due to the decision of the Manila City government to impose a day-time truck ban.

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Economists see slower export growth in H2

MANILA -- The truck ban imposed in the city of Manila and a slowing world economy will likely dampen the country’s exports growth in the second half of 2014, thus, diminishing the export sector’s contribution to economic expansion for the year, local economists said.

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PCCI cites short-, long-term solutions to address congestion at Manila port

The country’s largest business organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), has prescribed short- and long-term solutions to address the congestion at the Port of Manila which, the group said, is hurting the local business sector.

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Truck ban not just a local issue.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada governed well when he ordered a truck ban in Manila amid the traffic chaos that inconvenienced students and resulted in so many man-hours lost.

Truck drivers were virtually bulldozing their way to the Port of Manila with impunity to load and unload cargoes. Their sheer number has often caused a gridlock in the capital city.

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Truck ban, pests threaten Philippine exports in 2nd half of 2014

MANILA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The truck ban imposed by the Manila city government would make it difficult for Philippine exports to grow by at least 10 percent in the second half of the year, experts said Thursday.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) also warned that a prolonged dry spell coupled with the spread of coconut scale insects could slow down shipments of agro-based products in the July to December period.

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Gov’t moves to unclog Manila ports

IN ITS EFFORT to decongest the ports of Manila, the government has approved a 90%-discount incentive on docking fees for all vessels that will call on Batangas, and agreed with foreign shipping lines to make Subic Bay ports the temporary depots for containers.

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Container-van crisis nears tipping point

UNLESS President Aquino intervenes, a crisis involving empty container vans could reach its tipping point very soon, and this could hurt the Philippine economy. This fear was raised after the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) issued a circular stating that it would no longer accept “empty containers for export, due to yard utilization reaching 100 percent.” That circular took effect at the close of business hours on July 8.

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Truck ban to cause price hikes in 3 months, biz group warns

MANILA, Philippines–Consumers and businesses could feel within three months the full repercussions of the truck ban in Manila and the implementation of an order raising fines for colorum or unauthorized trucks, the head of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP) said on Monday.

CTAP president Ruperto Bayocot said the two measures would further raise the prices of consumer goods, make it harder for importers to secure their raw materials, and increase the rates of both shipping lines and trucking companies.

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PEZA considers reviewing targets due to Manila port congestion

MANILA -- The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) considers for the first time to review its target growth for exports revenue, investment value, and number of job creation for this year because of the Manila port problem.

“I’m afraid for the first time we may have to review our targets because of this port congestion situation,” PEZA Director General Lilia De Lima told reporters in an interview.

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Manila truck ban to derail PHL economy

The citywide truck ban in Manila could derail the Philippine economy from achieving continued growth that Malacañang should step in and stop city from implementing the policy, according to an economist.

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