MANILA, Philippines — Saying the traffic problem could hurt the economy, President Aquino apologized for the massive traffic jam that had stranded motorists and commuters travelling to Metro Manila from the northern provinces for several hours last Friday.
The President said he would review the video footages of Friday’s traffic at the North Luzon Expressway
President Aquino said he would also review video footages to determine what caused the heavy traffic at the North Luzon Expressway last week, to have a better grasp of the situation.
“We ask for forgiveness from the public,” he said, acknowledging the impact the problem has had on the economy.
“We don’t want this thing to exacerbate problems like, for instance, increasing prices for food because of the difficulty in the transport, on the logistics side,” he added.
But the President said that that government remained on track in easing the expected traffic build-up along major thoroughfares in and outside Metro Manila.
He said there are ongoing efforts to decongest Manila’s seaport.
Aquino said that resolving the entire issue would take time, given the number of shipments expected to arrive at the port as the holiday season approaches.
“We were clearly on track to bring the situation to normal levels. Ang problema lang natin, September is the start of the buildup for the (holiday) season. So, may bulusok, ano, na dadami na naman ito,” President Aquino told reporters after leading the launch of the Mindanao Inclusive Agribusiness Program at SM Lanang Premier here.
He said the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has already chartered a ship that would take care of the remaining empty containers left at the Port of Manila to decongest the area and make way for new shipments.
This is on top of the decreased docking fees offered by the government in Batangas Port and the additional charges imposed on the owners of overstaying cargoes, among other things, just to clear the port.
“Everything and anything that has been thought of, that can address these congestion problem is being done,” he said. (Eagle News Service)