AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday welcomed the lifting of the truck ban in Manila, saying it will pave the way for lower prices as Christmas holiday nears.
“At least timely po ‘yung naging lifting dahil malapit na po. Papalapit na po ang Christmas season, at this will help in decongesting the port of Manila,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said over state-run radio.
(At least the lifting of the truck ban was timely. The Christmas season is nearing and this will help decongest the Port of Manila.)
“At we expect na mag-i-ease po ‘yung inflationary pressure on prices because makakapag—magiging mas continuous na po ‘yung supply ng ating mga produkto,” she added.
(We expect the inflationary pressure on prices to ease because of the continuous flow of products.)
Earlier, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino thanked Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada for the decision.
Valte said the MMDA would be prepared to facilitate the heavy traffic that may result in the lifting of the truck ban, which will help speed up the decongestion of the port of Manila.
Even before the lifting of the truck ban, moves to speed up the decongestion of the port resulted in slow-moving traffic.
The government estimated that it would take about two weeks to decongest the ports after it gave an ultimatum to importers who kept their cleared cargo in the area for more than 30 days.
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