Metro Manila residents told to be ready for traffic nightmare

Malacañang says “patience” and “self-sacrfice” are the secrets to surviving the coming weeks.

“Presidential Communications Operations (PCOO) Secretary Sonny Coloma said the two-week decongestion campaign at the Manila port, starting today, is expected to have a “spillover effect” on the roads,” reports Genalyn Kabiling in Manila Bulletin.

What does Coloma mean?

Well, the report pointed out: “Traffic congestion may become the stuff of nightmares in the next two weeks.”

That said, Coloma said, “We are asking for greater understanding and cooperation of all sectors to resolve the problem of congestion in the port of Manila.”

He added, “We need to sacrifice a bit especially in the next two weeks. We are trying to resolve the problem caused by the congestion of the port of Manila. There will be spillover effects in the traffic situation, so let’s just follow our authorities.”

Indeed, as the report indicated, “the government has launched a new scheme to decongest the Manila port during a two-week period wherein trucks will be allowed to use the ’24-hour last mile’ routes from September 8 to 22.”

Under the plan, “trucks will be given special tags to move cargo containers from the Manila port to their warehouses all day without being apprehended.”

Coloma emphasized that “only trucks that will pull out containers at the Manila port on September 7 and 8 as well as September 14 and 15 will be given the ‘privilege of the 24-hour last mile truck route’ until September 22.

Screengrab from a TV Patrol video