National government agencies in Dumaguete City are working together with the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) to address traffic congestion along Dumaguete Port and major highways in the city.
The traffic congestion is caused by the influx of cargo trucks entering the city.
The surge of trucks coming into Dumaguete City is caused by the ongoing repairs in San Juanico Bridge, which links the islands of Luzon to Mindanao.
The San Juanico Bridge is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway and stretches from Samar to Leyte.
Trucks that weigh more than three tons carrying goods bound for Mindanao were no longer allowed to pass through the bridge going to Leyte and sail for Lipata, Surigao.
Police Executive Master Sergeant Aurelio Bodo, chief of the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG)-Dumaguete said this incident prompted truck drivers to divert to an alternate route to Mindanao, passing through the ports of Batangas, Aklan, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete in Negros Island, and Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte.
Bodo noted that the volume of incoming cargo trucks became noticeable on May 21.
The surge of trucks caused traffic congestion along Looc Bypass Road and Rovira Road, which are near Dumaguete Port as large trucks had to park along the outer lanes of the roads.
This prompted law enforcement officers and the business sector to address the surge of trucks and ensure public safety.
“Ang napapansin natin, ‘yung big trucks naka-park sa national roads from diversion [road in Dumaguete] all the way to papunta ng Sibulan, Lala-an [in San Jose]. Hindi po natin pwede hayaan. Bawal po mag-park along national highway. Secondly it will be dangerous to all motorists lalo na kapag gabi,” Bodo said.
Bodo also observed that national roads in neighboring towns are also affected since the four-lane roads have been reduced into two lanes because of the trucks occupying the outer lanes.
To resolve this, the PNP-HPG coordinated with NOCCI in negotiating with local businessmen to allow the use of their vacant lots as temporary holding areas for the vehicles, while waiting for the signal to board the roll-on/roll-off (RORO) vessels bound for Dapitan.
Bodo said they were able to convince a member of the chamber to allow the use of its lot in Camanjac for the said purpose.
NOCCI President Edward Du bared plans to install a container van on the property in Camanjac, which will serve as sleeping quarters equipped with portalets and a place to eat.
“We will have to provide some amenities there, katulugan [sleeping quarters], and probably, a canteen there, where the drivers can rest and sleep or whatever. Depending on their needs. We have to humanize the so-called inhuman situation of our truck drivers,” Du said.
The space can accommodate around 30 trucks, which is still short for the average 200 trucks that are estimated to come in and out of the city following the closure of San Juanico Bridge.
Marina, PPA measures
Representatives from the PNP-HPG, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and NOCCI held a meeting on May 28 to discuss multi-agency measures to address the influx of trucks in the city.
Marina said they are now flexible with the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) to shipping companies to help ease the congestion of cargo trucks at the port.
Marina-Negros Oriental Field Office representative John Lester Pitogo said the “relaxation” in the CPC would allow sea vessels to depart on before their scheduled departure time.
CPC is a license issued by Marina to a domestic ship operator or ship-owners to engage in domestic shipping.
“We are also looking into introducing new players, new shipping lines or additional vessels to cater to the influx of passengers and also rolling cargoes. We also try to encourage shipping operators to apply online ticketing services, not just for the passengers but also to the rolling cargoes,” Pitogo said.
PPA-Negros Oriental port manager Rey del Moro welcomed Marina’s decision to issue the CPC relaxation, as this would allow shipping companies to add trips, additional routes, and ports of call from Dumaguete Port to Dapitan Port.
Del Moro also said they are also assisting the NOCCI and the HPG in searching for viable lots in Sibulan, Bacong and Siaton as temporary holding areas for these trucks.
PPA is also exploring other ports in the province to be used as alternate ports for barges.
“The first measure that we tend to pursue would be, of course, to look for alternative ports for Dumaguete port. We are looking at Tandayag port, some private ports, and also Siaton port,” Del Moro said.
He expressed confidence that the Dumaguete Port can still manage the current volume of trucks plying in and out of the port.
“As you notice right now, the port is undergoing rehabilitation, expansion, development. So it’s a matter of, I think, managing our birth allocation and requiring full cooperation from our shipping lines … I can safely say that we can still accommodate the number of intended calls in the port,” Del Moro said. (PIA-7 Negros Oriental)