The past few months have been quite a strenuous time for the Port of Manila. Partly, one major factor behind this was the truck ban implemented by the Manila City Government against trucks plying the streets of the city during key hours of the day. (the original hours of the truck ban was virtually whole day from 5 AM–9 PM, but was tweaked so there were window hours set in place for trucks to ply the city streets from 10 AM-3 PM) While the jury’s out whether the truck ban has alleviated traffic in the city, the idea itself gained traction as other cities in the metropolis implemented their own truck ban policies.
Nevertheless, the policies have aggravated the longstanding issue that is being raised about the situation in the Port of Manila: congestion. With trucks unable to ply at the hours they usually ply, the already congested port became more congested as cargoes have been stalled in the port, reaching the port’s capacity to “dangerous levels.” There were also fears that there would shortage of certain goods that would be brought about with this situation. One can imagine the sigh of relief when on September 13, after about 7 months of controversial implementation, the Manila City Government under Mayor and former President Joseph Estrada indefinitely lifted the truck ban policy so to address the issue of congestion in the port.