Almost all ports in typhoon-ravaged areas back in business

Port in nearly all typhoon-ravaged areas -- except for the Guiuan and Estancia docks -- have resumed normal operations, the government said today.

“Except for Guiuan and Estancia ports, almost all ports within the Leyte, Samar, Iloilo, Bicol and Palawan regions have all returned to normal operations, including Tacloban and Ormoc, two of the highly-devastated ports caused by the typhoon,” Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Juan C. Sta. Ana said in a statement.

“Our ports are now ready to accept containerized and break-bulk cargoes including RoRo operations,” Sta. Ana said. RoRo refers to roll-on roll-off seagoing vessels that make possible travel by road across the country's major island groups. The ports that resumed normal operations include the baseload ports of Tacloban and Ormoc, the terminal ports in Baybay, Hilongos and Maasin in Leyte, Culasi in Iloilo and Coron in Palawan. The port of Estancia in Iloilo resumed partial operations while that Guiuan has been restricted to beaching operations.

PPA said the International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), a company owned by billionaire Enrique Razon, had helped clear the debris at the Tacloban Port so it could resume operations. In the last 12 days, about seven vessels serviced the Tacloban Port, including Navy and Coast Guard vessels as well as a Norwegian training ship and Capt. Oca, which the Associated Marine Officers and Seaman’s Union of the Philippines owns.

PPA said it has cut down the at one time eight-kilometer queue of vehicles at the Matnog port, which has been the lone jump-off point for relief missions to Tacloban and the rest of Leyte province. The government addressed the congestion by opening the Bulan Port in Sorsogon and doubling the number of vessels traversing the area from eight RoRo ships to 16. All government and non-government relief missions are now coursed through the Bulan Port, leaving the Matnog Port to handle commercial trucks, buses and passengers. This has resulted in the faster turnaround time of vehicles and the reduction of the vehicle cue to a kilometer as of Tuesday.

To facilitate the movement of both relief and commercial items, PPA is waiting for President Benigno Aquino III to issue an executive order reducing port charges, as well as another order suspending the government share from cargo handling services on relief goods and construction equipment and materials.