THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday, April 5, urged shippers and consignees to take advantage of the nearly empty streets of Metro Manila to move their cargoes and decongest the ports.

Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, Joint Task Force Coronavirus Shield (JTF CV Shield) commander and PNP deputy chief for operations, said now is the ideal time to move cargoes from the congested ports to warehouses and other storage facilities because there is less traffic.

“We have designated special lanes and we are also giving special consideration to cargo vehicles in order to ensure unnecessary and redundant inspections. This is the right time for the shippers and consignees to move out their shipments from the ports and eventually lead to the decongestion of our ports,” he said.

“With the present traffic situation especially in Metro Manila, we in the JTF CV Shield believe that this should serve as an encouragement for the haulers, owners and consignees to transport the shipments out of the ports,” he added.

The entire Luzon has been under enhanced community quarantine since March 17 as a measure to contain the novel coronavirus, or Sars-CoV-2, the infectious pathogen that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Under the enhanced community quarantine, public transport systems are suspended, food and health services are regulated, and most of Luzon’s over 53 million people are forced to stay home.

Only health workers, essential workers, emergency personnel, government officials and one person per household are allowed to go out of their homes.

Delivery of food shipments and other cargoes are unhampered.

The JTF CV Shield, which is the enforcement arm of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, has established a dedicated lane for cargoes passing through control points.

The CV Shield task force is composed of the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

In 2014, congestion in Metro Manila ports resulted in P2.5 billion daily loss. Attempts to decongest the ports resulted in monstrous traffic jams along major thoroughfares leading to Manila. (SunStar Philippines)