MANILA, Nov. 19 — The Palace announced on Tuesday that it is holding the Manila Ports Forum on November 27 at the Manila Diamond Hotel to address congestion at ports, especially the Port of Manila.
“Dito sa pagkakataong ito ay magbibigay ng update hinggil sa mga isinasagawa ng pamahalaan para maibsan ang problema ng port congestion,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said during a press briefing.
Expected to attend the forum are more than 300 participants from government agencies, port operators and private stakeholders, Secretary Coloma said.
The government agencies that will join the forum are the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation and Communications, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Philippine Ports Authority, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Finance, Bureau of Customs, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
Coloma said the government has been paying extra attention to suggestions coming from different sectors to find a lasting solution to the ports congestion problem, especially at the Port of Manila.
He said that according to President Benigno S. Aquino III, the point person for addressing concerns at the ports is Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion said port operations have significantly increased in terms of efficiency and productivity after the City of Manila lifted its daytime truck ban.
The cluster, headed by Almendras, consists of the respective heads of the departments of finance, trade and industry, public works and highways, and agriculture, as well as the National Economic and Development Authority.(PCOO/ PND (as)
