A LAWMAKER from the Southern Tagalog Region on Tuesday has proposed to shift the cargo traffic from the port of Manila to the Batangas port to ease the current "horrifying traffic" situation in Metro Manila.
Batangas Representative Raneo Abu said that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should seriously consider the proposed option, which will somehow reduce the volume of large trucks along the thoroughfares of the National Capital Region (NCR).
"If the Customs issues an administrative order stating that all Calabarzon-bound shipments will only be processed in the port of Batangas, then the cargo volume will naturally shit there," Abu said.
Sixty-six percent of the cargo volume that passes through the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) is bound for the provinces in Region IV-A (Calabarzon).
Based on the statistics submitted by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) to Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the Laguna bound shipment accounted for the 43 percent of the total cargo in 2012 with shipments bound for export processing zones in the cities of San Pedro, Sta. Rosa, Binan and Calamba while the remaining 15-percent was accounted in the entire Batangas province and eight percent in Cavite.
Batangas port is located 110 kilometers away from Manila and has a total area of 150 hectares, which Abu believes is a better alternative for its modern facilities and will also help Metro Manila lessen its daily traffic burden.
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada is set to implement the total daytime truck ban in country's capital this coming Monday following a recent ordinance passed by the city council as part of their program to decongest the 442 years old city from huge volume of vehicles. (Sunnex)