BoC told to tighten Manila ports monitoring amid congestion

THE Palace on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to closely monitor port congestion in the Manila South Harbor and Manila International Container Port.

“Whatever the problem is with port congestion, the President is focusing on that,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing in Filipino.

“We spoke directly with the leadership of the Bureau of Customs, and they told us that there is usually port congestion during weekends but on weekdays it gets better, the flow becomes normal.”

She cited the yard utilization levels of the country as low at 90% as of Feb. 19.

For the Port of Manila, the yard utilization is at 79.80%, the Manila International Container Port at 84.45%, while other major ports reported the following: Batangas at 49.60%, Subic at 60%, Cebu at 33%, and Davao at 68.34%.

“Port operators still can continue moving and processing cargo within their area,” Ms. Castro said. “There is no immediate threat of container movement being halted at this time. Port utilization also continues to decline.”

Ms. Castro said the immediate steps being advanced are straightforward and focus on earlier data collection, tighter inter-agency coordination and operational readiness to ensure uninterrupted services.

She added that the BoC will accredit additional container yards and hold quarterly coordination and assessment meetings with international shipping lines and port stakeholders, particularly ahead of peak months when facilities typically operate at high capacity.

“The BoC also supports infrastructure readiness initiatives, particularly investments in additional reefer facilities and complementary policy issuances,” said Ms. Castro.

“So, the BoC’s crisis management protocols remain active in case the utilization rate reaches a critical level. So, that is their immediate response to the alleged issue of port congestion.” — Chloe Mari A. Hufana