Port congestion seen easing soon

The joint administrative order (JAO) that aims to ease costly congestion at the Port of Manila is set to be issued in two weeks, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

On the sidelines of a press briefing on Monday, Lopez told reporters that the joint order was supposed to be released last week, but was put on hold to accommodate more comments from stakeholders.

This develops as high shipping fees and congestion hound the port, prompting different government agencies to come up with a JAO.

Although he did not provide figures, Lopez said these issues at the port have been costly for businesses, for example in terms of delays in the turnaround time for trucks.

“That is why we want to solve this. This is why we need a smoother operation,” he said.

The JAO will be issued by the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), Finance, and Transportation.

The Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Maritime Industry Authority, Philippine Ports Authority, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority  are also involved in issuing this joint order.

Aside from the JAO, DTI previously said that a Joint Memorandum Circular  between BOC and PPA will also be issued to issue new rules that will normalize the utilization rate of container depots in Manila back to 70 percent.